The Devil you Know
by Alaster Boneman
Summary: The Voyager is heading into Borg space walking state into the war between the Borg and Species 8472 as tempers rise and alliance are made and broken and friendships are tested and the battle for survival begins. AU/ show re right
1. Chapter 1 Beginnings

The Devil you know an Star Trek voyager fan fiction

By Alaster Boneman

The Devil you know a Star Trek voyager fan fiction

By Alaster Boneman

**The Devil you Know**

**Chapter 1 Beginnings**

**AN: This story is based around the Star Trek Voyager episodes Scorpion Parts 1&2, the Gift, Day of Honor, nemesis, Revulsion and the Raven. I'm going to take this slow the first chapter is manly the set up chapter so keep in mind I have also written this for reader who may not be unfamiliar to star trek **

**AN: This story was made for non-profit. All Characters and star trek universe belong to Paramount**

**The Devil you Know **

**Beginnings**

"**There is always a bigger fish" Qui-Gon Jinn**

In the vast cold empty vacuum of space lit only by the gentle light of far off stars nebula's and other space anomalies numbering in their vast uncounted all was quiet and peaceful. At the moment undisturbed by the petty wars and bloody conflicts the galaxy over. The only evidence of life in this quiet corner of the delta quadrant was three massive dark metal cubes flying at high speeds toward parts unknown.

These massive ships belong to one of the most powerful, technological advanced races in the Milky Way. Those who live and die aboard these massive ships are the poor individuals unlucky enough to be assimilated having all traces of Individuality removed, they are joined forever buy the great and terrible hive mind know only by the name the Collective. These races of cyborgs know buy the name BORG has gone unchallenged for so long. The Borg know nothing of fear, love, hate, compassion, joy, hope, anger or any other emotions and are only governed by the all-encompassing never ending quest to add to their perceived perfection. The Borg have indeed rarely ever been threaten or ever needed the assistance of those outside of their collective. All the thousands of species that make up the ranks of the Borg have never posed even slight threat and any and all resistance as proven futile. These countless lost souls have all been assimilated to add their biological and technological distinctiveness to the Borg's, hardly threatened buy all in this galaxy until now.

The Three Borg cubes speak as one as they fly though the vacuum of space to meet a new treats. They speak in one metal unfeeling monotone neither male nor female made from millions of voices speaking all one.

"WE ARE THE BORG"… "Existence as you know it is over"…."your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own"… "Your will adapt to services us" … "You will be assimilated" ….. "Resistance is fut…."

Before the Borg cubes could complete their declaration their seemly invincible ships are hit by streams of yellowy orange lighting blasting huge chunks of metal flying in all directions. The Borg ships for their part tried to adapt to their new enemy's weapons but they cannot. The billions of minds working together couldn't find a solution to lessen the damage from attacker weapons but make up even as their vessels were ripped apart piece by piece and their ships started bleeding massive fires into the void fuelled by the energy and atmosphere from inside the cubes.

Even as the Borg ships were hit buy yet more of the strange lighting they fire all their most deadly weapons at this new threat. In brilliant flashers of green must of these weapons for the most part find their mark on long sleek brown and orange ships. These resemble long sleek pods with three prongs erupting from the front of the ships and the long sleek body ended in three tall fins lined with silver. They fly around the Borg cubes like anger biting flies around an earth cow. This battle ends with the complete destruction of the three Borg cubes, there hulls and shields unable to keep the deadly onslaught at bay, the crew are vented into the cold vacuum of space around them. The battle won by the alien invaders the strange bio-ships of species 8472 move on to the next conquest leaving the debris of the Borg behind them spinning silently in the vast cold empty vacuum of space lit only by the gentle light of far off stars.

**USS Federation ship Voyager. **

Captain Kathryn Janeway had finally finished her shift on the bridge leaving Commander Chakotay in charge for next few hours. She was going to final get a change to try out her new Leonardo de Vinci holo program. It had been a stressful few weeks and she had not had the time to indulge in this latest holo program in fact not many of the crew had used the Holodeck ever since Seska's who know one knew at the time was not only Cardassian spy who posed as a Bajoran to infiltrate the Maquis. Her little booby trap had made the crew do a massive overhaul of all the ship's systems was performed to make sure that Seska had not left any other surprise's for Voyager and her crew. It still amazed her that someone who had been dead for nearly a year could come back to haunt them like some a ghost with gripe with the living. Like from one of Tom Paris B movies. She shook her head at the thought as she left the turbo lift and walked toward Holodeck 2. Stepping up to Holodeck's computer console she saw Ensign Kale Blain step out of the sweet with a tool box in his right hand and a data pad in the other. Ensign Kale Blain is 27 years old, a short lightly tanned man with a slight Australia accent which managed to work its way past the universal translator of the Starfleet communication badge. Apart from the infuriately large mole just blow his left that she couldn't really say that much about the young man other than he worked down in in deck 15 and was one her original star fleet crew with a good work record.

"Good After noon Ensign" Janeway said announcing herself.

To the sudden sound of his Captain voice Kale's concentration of his data pad broke and looked away from "Cap…Captain!" he strutted brokenly.

Janeway flashed him a reassuring smile "I didn't mean to startle you Mr. Blain" she said. Blain for his part thought he should explain himself "I'm sorry Captain I was distracted with the maintenance on the holodeck" he muttered.

"That's all right Mr. Blain so everything in working orders?" Janeway asked trying to put the younger man at easy.

"O yes Captain every things is fine" Blain said. Kale was starting to get his confidence as the surprise of the Captain popping up from nowhere begun to faded.

"Well that good, let's hope there are no booby traps hum "she said with a slight smile to tell him it was a joke.

"Yes quite…. Well not to be rude Captain but I have to get down to Deck 12, some of the bio-jell packs need replacing". Blain said.

"Dismissed Ensign and keep up the good work" Janeway said cheerfully.

"Thanks Captain… enjoy the holodeck." Blain said and with a stoop of his shoulders her about turned and walked down the hallway. Kathryn just shook her head again and thought to herself 'not much of a talker'. She stepped up to the holodeck control panels and activates her program me file.

"Computer activate Leonardo de Vinci Janeway pie 694" Janeway instructed.

"Enter when ready" the computer droned.

She stepped into the holodeck and was in Leonardo de Vinci's famous work shop. It was just how she knew it would be. The room was of the size with tables, chairs and outer pieces of furniture scattered everywhere. The hole room was a chaotic mess with half finished work spread out ever there was a space. The midday sun light was streaming into to it from an open wind. Janeway could her light chatter of the passers-by on the street below carried on the wind. On the walls and hanging from the ceiling was all manner of devices, one of which was Leonardo de Vinci famous flying machine. It was a thing of beauty and Kathryn's heart leaped with joy at the sight of it, she had always a fan of the great master's works and remembered from her youngest memories she could remember her late father taking her and her younger sister to the Leonardo de Vinci museum. She must have been 12 and her sister 9 or 10. The memories came with both sadness and joy as memories often did for her but she had no time to think on her inner-musing as the man himself walked in from the outside hallway. He looked exactly as she thought he would look. The Hologram Leonardo de Vinci mid 50is with a long white flowing beard which reached down to the top of his large gut. He was about taller than her although this was nothing new with wild unkempt hair pushed into a soft brown hat. A half dream like expression on his face as if he had forgotten some but could not remember what it was.

Janeway for her part merely went "ammuh" to get the distracted man's attention.

"Arh' Signora I'm sorry I did not know you were here my mind was on other things" Leonardo told in his thick Italian ascent. He walked up to her and gave her hands a small kiss then turned as if remembering what he came in for. Clarity crossed his face as he walked behind a desk she had not noticed. What seemed to be a shoulder and artificial arm that was wooden and metal which ending in a human like hand. The shoulder was attached to a large box which he started working on.

"May I Ask what a fine young lady like yourself is doing in I'm my study? Signora…., Leonardo asked not looking up from the box.

"Catarina Janeway" Janeway said with a teasing smile and a slight blush of her cheeks "O...I was just admiring your great works and was wounding if you would be interested in some patronage for your works and perhaps a small desk to work on my own projects it would be a great honor to work alongside the great Leonardo de Vinci" Janeway said with the best and most confident smile she could muster.

Leonardo for his part looked up from the internal workings of the arm box "I see….my dear. He said look up from the box and rolled his eyes having herd similar propulsions before. "I have many patrons that invest in my great works as you say the Cardinal himself has just thanked me for my latest portrait of his bumbling nephew" Leonardo said in annoyance.

"Was the Cardinal not generous with his payments?" Janeway asked beaming an even wider smile at him.

"Har the Cardinal is a _thief_… he contracted me to paint his beloved Nephew in the heroic style of a _Hercules_ or an _Achilles._ The effort on my part was greater than any act of Hercules or Achilles"…. "And what pray tell do you think he gave me in return?" He said puffin himself up with convection.

"His everlasting appreciation and gratitude?" Janeway asked smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"Yes as you say the Cardinal everlasting appreciation and gratitude"….. So less than nothing" he said with a sigh "Sorry my dear…what did you say your name was again?" Leonardo asked disappointed in himself of his rude behavior toward this fine woman.

"Catarina Janeway" Janeway told him.

"So you see my dear Catarina it is not about the money although that would be appreciated, I have far too many projects demanding my attention and so little time to complete them." He said wistfully. "Like this for example" Leonardo beckoned her over to the arm box. Kathryn could see more clearly the inside of the box which was filled with many gears and pistons of clockwork. She was once more impressed by the ingenuousness of Leonardo de Vinci, he was hundreds of years ahead of his time in the fourteenth century he had envisioned a mechanical tool not unlike the robot arms used in the 20 century onwards that had worked in factories around the Earth she had been taught about in school.

"So what is this?" Janeway asked gesturing to the arm box playing into the hologram universe.

"Ah I call it the Arm of Hephaestus every black smith will one day thank me for this wonderful new tool" Leonardo said as he wound a key in the back of the box.

"The Greek God of the Forge" Janeway said impressed.

As the clockwork in side started to work the arm moves up and down until one of the gears breaks. "If I can ever get these damnable pieces to work" de Vinci said as yet again he starts fiddling with the box removing the offending gear.

"Here let me help" Janeway says as she reaches for the box to aid him.

"My dear you will get grease all over your hands!" Leonardo says stocked that a lady would work on something so dirty.

Kathryn merely shrugged her shoulders at this "You know what they say. Grease is good for the skin". She told him.

After a few moments of tinkling they get the broken gear out.

"You see…broken again" de Vinci made "hump" sound. "Wood is just not strong enough to work for any length of time and the teeth of the piece breaks off and make a mess of the insides"… I will need to find a substitute for these pieces but metal is so expensive, cannot be refined to these small dimensions." Leonardo frustration at been limited filling his words.

Kathryn looked up from the box and wipes her hands a nearby rag. Even though she was in the holodeck and there would be no stains when she left, it was all part of the fun. She walks over and gestures to the flying machine.

"And what is this" Janeway said walking up to the machine playful mischief in her smile.

"Are yet another uncompleted marvel of mine. I believed since my imagination could take flight so easily my body could do the same, not so I'm afraid" Leonardo said sadness now filling his voice and crossing his wrinkled face.

"This machine is designed to flap like the way a bat or sparrow fly's. Have you very considered changing the design of it to that of a hawk or an eagle?" Janeway suggested playfully.

Leonardo looks up at the flying machine with an expression of new found awe. He leaves the arm of Hephaestus and walks up to his master peace.

"A Creature that glides above the clouds and swoops down onto its prey. Why did I never think of such a thing?" Leonard ponders.

"I'm sure that it would have come to you" Janeway said with as much conviction as she could muster.

"I will start work on a new design at once and we can test it together" Leonard said as he just realized what he just said and looks at her with his large brown eyes.

"Just a small desk you said?" Leonard asked.

"Yes you won't even know I'm here and I'll pay a monthly rent for the space" Janeway said knowing she had him as Mark would say hook, line and sinker.

"Then we have a deal my dear Catarina and together we will make such marvels the like which man as never seen before" Leonardo said with now joy filling his face. Then she heard the all too familiar beep of the com.

"Janeway here" Janeway said with a long sigh.

"Captain I'm sorry to disturb you" Chief Engineer Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres said over the com.

"That alright Lieutenant what was it?" Janeway asked.

"Captain we have just lost contact with the last probe" B'Elanna informed her.

"Were you able to get any of the data back?" Janeway asked worried that was all five probes were lost now.

"Yes Captain…..I think you'll going to want to see this" B'Elanna said quietly with sounding very worried.

"I see…. B'Elanna on a scale of one to ten how bad is it?" Janeway asked not likening the fear that started bubbling up from her stomach.

"On a scale of one to ten", there was a long prose, "_eleven_" B'Elanna said.

"I will be right there" Janeway told her Chief Engineer. Kathryn takes one final look around the work shop and says "Computer save program Janeway pie 694". She ordered.

"Program saved" the computer droned without feeling or inflection.

"Deactivate program" Janeway ordered with authority. The work shop then faded out of existence leaving only the grey hexagon's of the holo emitters in the room. She about faced and went to the door and left for Engineering. Once down there she met B'Elanna at a workstation.

**Engineering **

"So what rates eleven on a scale of one to ten?" Janeway asks keeping her voice low so as to not alarm the engineering staff who walked passed doing their assigned jobs.

"I think I better show you" B'Elanna said with an unusable amount of worry showing on her tanned face.

B'Elanna taps the computer panel and shows her captain what the probe's last bit of data was. She watched as the Captain Expression change from curiosity to dread as the blood drained form her face. B'Elanna couldn't blame the Captain as she had felt the same when Lieutenant Joe Carry and she retrieved the data.

"How many of the crew have you shared this with?" Janeway asked.

"Only Lieutenant Carry and I have seen it, and I have ordered him not to say anything yet." B'Elanna told her.

"No we don't need people panicking just yet" Janeway said then started thinking 'no that will come soon enough'. "I want you to get as much information about this as possible involve who you feel you must but try to keep it on the numbers low for now I'm going to call a staff meeting at 14 hundred hours and I want everything you're got by then" Janeway ordered.

"Yes Captain" B'Elanna said as she looked back to the image frozen on the screen and the time ship time on one of the consoles hear her it was 13:02. This only gave her an hour to get compiled everything she needed.

"I will be in my ready room if you need anything" Janeway said at this the Captain left and B'Elanna started to called Joe in to start work on the latest problem for voyager.

"So how did the Captain take it?" Lieutenant Joe Carry said as he came into the room as soon as the Captain left for the bridge.

"Not good" was all B'Elanna would say as they got into their work.

**Bridge**

Kathryn Janeway returned to the Bridge and it was when she left, It even with the same staff on duty. Ensign Samantha Wildman working on one of the consoles in the far corner, Ensign Harry Kim standing behind the Operations station talking to his best friend Lieutenant Tom Paris about something inane, Lieutenant Gregory Andrews was at Tactical because Lieutenant Tuvok was off shift. Lieutenant Andrews was a tall fit looking African American man with dark brown eyes and a small well-kept beard. At the opening of the Bridge doors Commander Chakotay stood up to see was that had entered a look of puzzlement on his face at see her renter the bride so soon.

"Captain I thought you would be having fun with your de Vinci program you've been working on?" Chakotay asked looking puzzled.

"I was Chakotay but I was but unfortunately I had to cut my holodeck time short" Janeway said her voice betraying her new levels of stress that had found a way to worm itself into her soul.

"Would this have anything to do with the missing probe that B'Elanna told me about?" Chakotay asked concern filling his voice he had known how much Kathryn had been looking forward to her holodeck time and only something important would have got her to delay her much needed off time.

"Yes Commander it is and I would rather not get into that here right now" Janeway said a little shapely as she looked around at the bridge crew who had stopped their good natured conversions with each other. When they had all heard the stress and worry in their Captain's voice.

"Can we do anything to help Captain?" Harry Kim asked kindly.

"Not right now Harry" Janeway said putting some warmth in the voice.

She then left for her ready room with Chakotay followed her in.

"You have the Bridge Tom" Chakotay said as he left.

"Yes sir" Tom Paris getting up from his pilot chair and sat in the vacant Commander's chair. The backup pilot Ensign Roy Culhane moved to the helm. He was a tall and lanker a New Yorker through and through with small blue eyes.

"So what do you think that was all about?" Tom asked to no one in particular trying to get Voyager's rumor mill up and working at speed.

"Could be that the probe found something before we lost contact with it" said Andrews in his deep voice.

"Yeah it could be a wormhole or something and the Captain doesn't won't to get our hopes up" Harry said with hope brimming in his eyes.

"I don't know Harry, knowing our luck it's probably will be a fleet of Kazon with a bone to pick" Tom said teasing his friend.

"Well sorry that my mind doesn't automatically go to the darkest places, first" Harry said not letting Tom's teasing get to him.

"I for one hope we left all that Kazon business behind us. It's not good for Naomi to grow up with a ship constantly attacked by some backwards lunatics who are more into picking fights then Klingons" Samantha said with no small amount worry crossing her small round face.

"Sorry Sam I didn't mean anything by it I was just joking with Harry" Tom said as an apology and gave her a smile he usually reserved for B'Elanna to keep the fiery half Klingon which he had a massive crush on from ripping his guts out.

"That's all right Tom" Samantha said with understanding.

"So what do you think Roy" Harry said trying to break the uncomfortable silence which was quickly descending on the Bridge.

"Oh no you're not getting me into this I'm not bailing you guys out again" Culhane said and went back to work.

At this Tom only shakes his head and conceded that Roy Calhond was an all right pilot but not the bravest person on Voyager.

"You're no help" Tom said disappointed.

**Ready room**

Chakotay fallowed his Captain and friend in to the ready room. The Captain for her part just kept walked to the replicator and ordered coffee.

"Coffee black"…. You want anything?' Janeway asked before taking a sip of her coffee and siting behind her desk.

"No I'm fine Captain" he told her "So what's the matter?" Chakotay asked with concern he tried to read her but whatever was bothering her she wasn't letting it show on her face. She just took a long sip of her coffee and sat down behind her desk.

After it was clear that Chakotay wasn't leaving until he got an answer she looked up at said one word "Borg".

At hearing the name the colour drained from his face and a deep seated fear sank to his stomach. "I see…since we are not at red alert yet or hearing _'Resistance is futile_' I'm guessing this has to do with the Probe?" Chakotay asked.

"Yes Chakotay there I was finally getting some time to myself" she said somewhat sarcastically thinking 'just my luck'. "When B'Elanna calls me up and shows me this" she turned the computer and showed him the same video that B'Elanna had shown her not half an hour ago.

Kathryn Janeway didn't think it was possible but Chakotay had become even paler then when he heard her said Borg but at showing the probe's last moments she was proven wrong.

"You know what I think I will have a drink after all" Chakotay said as he walked over to the replicator "Ceylon tea hot". He ordered taking the cup in his hand and moving back to set on the chair directly in front of Kathryn desk.

"We always knew this day was coming" Janeway said with resignation, "No matter what course we took out here we knew that more likely than not we would come up against the Borg. The one thing Starfleet knew for certain was that the Borg came from the Delta Quadrant and ever since we found that Borg skeleton 3 months ago and your experience with the Cooperative before that" she sees the expression on his face was unreadable. "We knew this day was coming". She admitted.

"Yes Captain we did" Chakotay said his voice level lowering.

"So what do we do" Janeway asked looking him in the eye.

"Well like you said we knew this day was coming and we can't avoid them forever so we are just going to have to play it by ear. I don't suppose we could turn around and find another way home?" Chakotay asked knowing either answer would make him feel even worse.

"Not likely according to what B'Elanna has already showed me we have been in their space for the last month" Janeway told him.

"A month and we haven't seen the Borg until now?" said Chakotay surprise filling his voice.

"I know puzzling isn't it?" Janeway said with a look of puzzlement on her own face.

"Yes it is" he said his dark tattooed brow creased in thought. "Well there could be any number of reasons we have seen them until know" Chakotay said trying to look on the bright side but where the Borg were concerned there wasn't much of one.

"Like what?" Janeway said.

"Well" Chakotay said racking his brain "Maybe they're not interested in Voyager we are only one ship of a hundred and sixty souls we may not be that high a target" he said but everything he know about the Borg made that scenario highly unlikely to say the least.

"That might be the case but that's unlikely" Janeway said she thought to herself that the Borg would let any ship pass into their space unmolested and more importantly unassimilated the possibility of that verged on the impossible. She had the horrible feeling something was up and if there was anything she hate was been out of the loop.

"We could have a Guardian Angel. Q does owe us some favors after we helped save his race from themselves" Chakotay said with a bit more hope in his voice but he didn't like the idea of something watching over them or even less been in the fiends det.

"That is a possibility but in all the time since then has Q showed us any favoritism or anyone else for that matter?" Janeway asked "and even if he was looking out for us we would know about it as he more than likely pop up on Voyager to brag or turn it into his own amusement park" Janeway said with a more than a little annoyance in her voice. She thought to herself 'if he really wanted to help us he could just snap his fingers and get them all home by lunch time'.

"That's true" Chakotay consider bitterly he did like Q any more than the new person "So I suppose all we can do is prepare" Chakotay said in a supportive voice.

"Well we will call a senior staff meeting as soon as B'Elanna gets as much information from the probe's 'data' and we will make a plan. While we wait can you tell me if there is anything from your time with the Coo-perative that could give us some insight into the Borg" Janeway said she did not what to upset him. She knew that his mind link with the Coo-perative was still a raw wound even mounts later.

"Firstly Captain I don't think we should compare the Coo-perative to the Collective. Yes the Coo-perative did use me to their, _own_ ends but they also let us go." Chakotay said as levelly as he could as he ran a hand thought his black hair. But everything I remember from the _link_ tells me that we should not under any circumstances underestimate the Borg" Chakotay said with conviction.

"Well that isn't a lot of help Chakotay" Janeway said moodily.

"What can I say I was only part of their link for a few hours and all I saw were their broken memories not tactical information on the Borg" Chakotay said correcting Kathryn mistaken belief that he had gained some new and deep insight of the Borg from the linked with to 20 odd former drones. The truth of the matter was he didn't remember that much and what he did was disjointed and hard to define.

Both the Captain and he set their in quiet Contemplation for some time trying to think of things to say but failing. The quite was finely broken by the beep of the com.

"Captain" B'Elanna's voice came in loud and clear.

"What is it Lieutenant have, you got something?" Janeway asked hoping it was good news or at least not as bad news.

"Yes Captain we found something that may help us" B'Elanna said without the worry that had tainted her voice when she first called her up.

"We could all do some good news" Janeway commented.

"Well" Chakotay said gesturing to the door, "shall we?" Chakotay asked.

Kathryn Janeway taps her com badge. "This is Captain Janeway to all members of the senior staff please meet in the briefing room" Janeway order.

A Series of "Yes Captain's" filled the com and both of them left her ready room and headed to the conference room.

**To be continued in chapter 2 Fox and the Scorpion's part 1**

A:n I Hope you like this this first ever fan fiction and I really hope you liked it because it took a lot of work. Some of you may be wounding were seven of nine is don't worry I'm getting to her soon in the next chapters so you are going to have to be patience.

This chapter was short but the next chapter will be longer I do warring you know this story is going to be dark but that's how I wanted it. any way I hope you enjoyed this you may also notice there is a lot of talking and conversions I'm just say I'm not really good at characters and I'm going to try and keep this in continuity with the show but it will go in its own direction. Hopefully, any who, Please review comment and make suggestions. But don't be a douche. Yours Alaster Boneman


	2. Chaprer 2 Fox and the Scorpion part 1

52

The Devil you know a Star Trek voyager fan fiction

By Alaster Boneman

**Chapter 2 ****Fox and the Scorpion part 1**

**AN: Frist I wont to say thank you to may reviews Susanc and Celgress for being my first review's and your conversions with you they were great and impossible big thank you to Scifiromance not only for your review but putting my silly little fan fiction on your community Commander and the Borg you never know how much that means to Me. Last but not least a big thank you to my Bata for all your help. I was organelle going to have this chapter as one complete hole but been that I grew unsatisfied with that idea so I split it to 2 chapter I hope you don't mind and seven of nine is in the next chapter.**

AN: this story was made for none profit all Characters and universe belong to paramount

**Fox and the Scorpion part 1**

"**Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." **

― **Mae West**

**Briefing room**

The senior staff filed into the briefing room one by one or in groups of two or three. The first two were of course Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay, next was Ensign Harry Kim and Lieutenant Tom Paris having left Lieutenant Andrews in charge of the bridge. Then prompt as always Lieutenant Tuvok came in alone with Kes, the Doctor and Lieutenant Torres and finally Neelix. They all took their usual seats expect for Kathryn Janeway and B'Elanna Torres who remained standing. A feeing of uneasy quickly silence all conversation.

"Ok" Tom said haven noticed to mood quickly and wonted to dispel it. "So I guess I'm going to have to be the one who's going to asks what's going on." Tom being the class clown thought it would broke the ice.

Kathryn more or less ignored his foolish question but it had got her talking so that was a good thing in the end. "As you all know we sent out several of probes 3 weeks ago to scout the area of space ahead of us" Janeway says keeping her voice level and controlled

"Most of those were lost to sup-space distortion" B'Elanna added more than a little pissed that they had lost so many.

"All expect one" Janeway said continuing she nods to B'Elanna who then taps a few keys to show the video that had started all this.

The Video started with unusual slightly grainy pictures of space due to just managing to avoid the fate of its fellow probes. Then they all saw what Captain Janeway, Chakotay and B'Elanna had seen at first, a huge Borg cube made it way mid screen. What happened next happed quickly, the Borg cube hit the probe with a green beam and then the video changed to show the house of horrors inside the cube. There was a male humanoid Borg drone of some unknown species and what little they could see of his body was coved by implants and armour. One of these had replaced his left eye with a large green glass orb which resembled the eye of a fly _it_ began scanning the probe with another sickly green light which came from the spiked claw replaced his right hand. It would not be out of place in an old horror movie then the screen fizzed out all to gather. B'Elanna who clicked a few more buttons and the screen changed to diagrams she took her place beside Tom who discreetly taking his hand under the table held hers and gave her some restoring squeezes. The captain started walking having everyone's attention on her again.

"We don't know how many vessels there are out there but their space is vast we are dealing with thousands of systems all _Borg_ we are no doubt heading into the heart of their space" Janeway said letting that sink in.

"You all know I want to go home just as much as anyone here could we could go around their space?" Harry Kim asked.

"We could" Janeway said "and we will keep that option open if we come to it. But I'm not going to turn this ship around if I can help it. _Their_ space is just too vast to be avoided all together and to try and go around we would be adding 50 years to our way home and besides that _they already know_ we are _here._" she paused for breath "but there might be a way through it." Janeway nods to B'Elanna.

"We did manage to find a narrow path completely free of Borg activity" said B'Elanna trying to still her own fear at bay.

"We have nicknamed it the North West passage" said Chakotay as he stands up to activate the screen. It showed a large area which looked like a huge flowing river Borg icons all around it but not one inside.

"Ok I'll bite….why are there no Borg there?" Tom asked his interest been peaked.

"We not entirely sure …it's not like the Borg to ignore such a huge area going through the heart of their space" Chakotay said.

"Well we did manage to detect some intense spatial distortions and gravity anomalies which seem to completely fill the passage but from the scans we managed to recover they shouldn't pose much of a threat to Voyager. So I don't see why there is no Borg in there" B'Elanna said clearly looking mystified.

Tom looked at the data and said "Looks like it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride it maybe too bumpy for them!" Tom said trying to sound upbeat.

"Indeed it is most illogical all the Tactical information that the Federation has would suggest that Borg would not find it difficult to adapt to such distortions. I doubt the Borg would find it as you say Mr Paris, _Bumpy_" Tuvok said with only a raised eyebrow.

Wanting to change the subject before Tom tried to find of a comeback. Chakotay said "so Doctor has your studies of the Borg skeleton revealed anything?" Chakotay asked

"Yes Commander in the months since we found it Kes and I have been going through every bit of the Federation medical data base as well as studying the corpse. I believe I have achieved a greater understanding of how their assimilation technologies works and we may be able create a medical counter messes or reverse the _assimilation _process if we act in time" the EMH or Doctor as he preferred to be called said clearly looking forward to the challenges ahead.

"Do you really think we could undo the assimilation process Doctor?" Harry asked trying to rack his brain on all the Borg information he had every studied or heard of.

"It's possible" the Doctor said with confidence "after all the crew of the Enterprise crew was able to return Captain Picard to his human state after the battle of Wolf 395" he continued "as long as we are able to break the neuro-interlink interface. Of course the longer the Implants remain the more the body comes to rely on them. Therefore it is imperative that if we loss anyone we try to retrieve them before that time outer wise I will not be able remove them all." The Doctor said as he looked over around the table.

"How much time would we have if a crew member were to be assimilation by the Borg to revive them Doctor? Janeway asked with interest.

"Well that varies from person to person, species to species but with humans maybe a week. 6 days give or take before the body becomes too dependent" the Doctor said.

"What about someone who has been a drone for longer?" Tom asked to every one's surprise.

"A very good question Mr Paris" Tuvok said with as much interest in both what Tom and the EMH had to say on this new line of discussion.

"Tom what made you think of that?" B'Elanna asked clearly impressed. 'Wow definitely more than a pretty face, bad jokes and cute bum' she thought to herself.

"Well dear old Dad showed me some of the few _saved_ drone files from the Starfleet after the Battle of Wolf 359 and outers. He always said that I should be prepared for the worst" Tom said his young face suddenly looking very sad and much older than it was.

"You never told me that" Harry said looking at his friend in a new light.

"It's not something that I like to remember" was all Tom said before lapsing into silence once again.

Kes who had been silent up to this point said "I'm sorry" as she looked to Tom because she could fell his sadness but continued on. "I know everyone is going to think I'm naive but is there no way to reason with the Borg or even make peace with them, I mean that is what we do isn't it?" Kes said kindly

"Oh Kes you're not being naive"…..Your just trying to find the good in people even if it is not there" Neelix said trying to reassure his ex-girlfriend.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Kes but in all my time as a Starfleet office I can confidently say there is no threat quite like the Borg. They know nothing of fear or hope or any other emotions that govern almost every race. We know there has never been any successful diplomacy where the Borg were concerned so if we do come in contact with them then we must fight or we will be assimilated" Tuvok said seriously.

"I know that Tuvok…..just part of me hopes that any race can be reasoned with and a peaceful solution can be found" Kes said looking into her mentors older eyes with her own eyes reflecting her youth and hope.

The Doctor considered the debate and what Tom had asked which surprised him no degree. "Well we do know of drones who have been freed from the Collective" he said this looking to Commander Chakotay with an expression on his face as if asking for permission Chakotay gave a small nod so he continued, "All my psychological and physiological study about drone's who have been freed from the Collective influence have all done manly any one of four things are likely to happen." The doctor stopped for a moment "They have either been put into mental care hospitals for the rest of their lives, others have committed suicide rather than live with individuality or have they returned to the Collective" and the Doctor said this very quietly "or made their own." His face showed such sadness at the needless waste of lives. "There is at least to the best of my knowledge never been a full Borg drone have returned to a full Individuality." "If the neuro-interlinks are broken or disconnected I may be able to remove a large amount of their implants and even make one look human or whatever they were before _more or less_ but one thing I cannot undo is the Borg brain washing. The Doctor finished.

"Thank you for that Doctor" Janeway said "anyone else want to contribute to this debate? Janeway gives them stern look.

To this Tuvok said "I will start the Security teams on running Borg boarding drills and have already set up rotating modulation of all ship's phaser banks and torpedos. The hand held phasers will be set with their own rotating modulations but it probably won't take the Borg long too adapted to modifications. I also believe that it would be a prudent course of action to have every crew member learn the basics of hand to hand combat when dealing with Drones so I may require both holodeck's be made available for training purposes". Tuvok finished.

"Their yours Tuvok whenever you need them" Chakotay told him

"My team have nearly completed implementing our reinforced Security lock out system that we started after or last run in with the Viidian's. It is a honey comb system and in the event of been boarded each area of the ship can locked a sealed with level 10 force fields and double bulkheads within a few moments. Each key system can be shut off and locked to personal codes. Each vital area of the ship can and have all air and vented into space" B'Elanna said taking pride in her and her teams work.

"Neelix how are we for supplies because it not likely we will be able to stop any time soon" Janeway asked the Talaxian.

"Not to worry Captain I have taken the liberty of expanding Aeroponics to produce more long term food but as for our stores we have 6 months' worth" Neelix said. "The real problem is going to be able to keep the moral of the crew, many of them will be nervous about heading to Borg space. Not that we can blame them of course but nervous people tend to eat more. Luckily for us I know a few old Talaxian power saving trick or two that might help so squeezes a little bit more out of our Dilithium and quite a few even older soup recipes which will keep for days. But if the crew can't below of steam on the holodeck's then we may start getting problems" Neelix said with a glint in his yellow eyes.

"Thank you Neelix your help is always appreciated as for the holodeck I'm sure you and Tuvok can work something out" Janeway told him.

"Ensign how are things on your front?" Chakotay asked Harry.

"I have already have set the sensors to warn us of an opening from a trans warp conduit and given time we may even be able to track nearby active trans warp signatures. This might give us an early warning system to know if there are any active ones near Voyager." Harry said happy to contribute something at last.

"Good work we could use every edge we can get" Chakotay said beaming at the young ensign for his foresight.

"The Borg already know we are out here. We will try to avoid a direct conflict with the Borg but when that time comes I'm confident that each and every one in this crew will prove themselves. I'm Proud of each and every one of you." Janeway said with deep meaning and pride showing itself in her deep blue eyes.

"Well you all know your duty's dismissed" Chakotay ordered.

A chorus of 'yes Captain' followed as the senior crew as they left for their tasks.

**Voyager **

All over the ship the Crew worked as if their very lives depended on it because they did know whatever they are doing may very well save them from the living hell of a Borg drone. Some of the crew had even known someone who had been lost to the Borg. Working in such a busy environment meant tempers frayed easily and people who have been friends and crew members for three long hard years started snapping at each other. As soon an argument would start it was soon put on hold because of whatever caused them to snap at each other was foolish and didn't matter or compare to fighting the Borg. After a more than two weeks the stress on the ship was at an all-time high, many of the crew started to let their fear get to them and Voyager had become a powder keg of brewing problems. Every time someone felt like they exploding at a colleague or a friend they just remembered they were up against but this only added to the unrest that was in the air.

**Voyager Mess hall**

Neelix for his part tried to help as much as he could. As the official Moral Officer and all around Jack of all Trades his time was split into many tasks to try and find reasonable solutions to the crew problems, wether that was helping fix broken pieces of equipment and on occasion to provide a shoulder to cry on and of course his responsibilities as the head chef. He was being pulled in all directions at once but he was happy to do this as these were good people trying to do the best they could in a harsh galaxy. Helping the crew like this he had no time of late to visit is beloved goddaughter Naomi Wildman he considered this he left the mess hall. He was missing her something offal. Neelix had never had children of his own although he had always wanted them. Even as a child he always had children around him when he was growing up on Rinax happy and safe with his family. Then the war came and his family was gone in the blink of an eye. Rinax was turned in a wasteland. He reflected on this for a moment or two. His life had taken so many wild turns such as being a salvager when he had spent years wandering from place to place usually getting into trouble but that had all changed when he had met Kes for the first time. She was so young back then no more than a year old although a year old Ocampa was the equal of must race's adulthood because Ocampan's only live for nine years. She had shown him such love and care when no one else had. Even how when she had moved on with her life a large part of his heart still belonged to her and for all he knew it always would do so. When she had been kidnaped by that bruit Jabin and they had met the Voyager crew rescuers they had showed such kindness. He could do nothing but try to repay them as much as he could. As he saw them as a big family he was proud to be a part of no matter how hard things got. Seska's betrayal, the Kazon, the Viidian's and a hundred others all tried to take Voyager out and now his family faced their greatest threat the Borg. Even before he had meet Kes he knew who the Borg were from childhood boogieman stories. He had never really given the old stories much credence till he had heard from outer salvagers and traders that would tell tales about huge cube ships coming out of nowhere to take whole ships crews and even planet's populations away. Until he was on Voyager he had never really believed those stories but now he did. He could only think of one word to describe them and it was not a word he liked to use Evil. Neelix knew that there were a lot of bad things in the galaxy, a lot of bad people. Killing he could understand. Slavery he knew the reasoning behind. Racism, prejudice, hate, war all these things as much as he hated them he could understand them they were all based on the same principles. With the Borg he could not if you were taken by them it was by all accounts a fate worse than death. It wasn't just that their crimes were worse no their true irredeemable crime was they did not value life, they stole the most precious thing from you they took your identity. Neelix wasn't a philosopher or anyone with great intelligence but to him, to have your identity was the worse fate you could have. You became a puppet on a string, a cell in a body with no will of your own.

He shuddered at the thought as he closed up the Mess hall for the night he tried to pouch such thoughts out of his mid as he walked the nearly empty hall was to the Wildman's quarters so he read little Naomi an bed time story. According to her mother Samantha Wildman, Naomi had been having trouble sleeping and she had tried everything to get her daughter to have a full night sleep but nothing worked. Even though Naomi was only 3 soon to be four years old though due to her father's Ktarian genes she looked more like a four or five year old. She was very smart and advanced for her age even though she didn't fully understand the current crisis. She must have known on some level that something was very wrong on Voyager. Neelix felt that it was it was his duty to calm and distract Naomi and her mother so they could enjoy simple things in life like the joy of seeming your friends happy. Neelix put a smile on his face as he came up to the door of the Wildman's quarters and pressed the buzzer.

Samantha Wildman opened the door. "O thank God Neelix you're here" Sam said in relief.

"I'm sorry I'm late Sam I was late closing up the mess hall" Neelix said putting on an apologetic smile on his face as if had a done something wrong. Knowing how tried Samantha was from looking after her daughter and her working hours of late.

"O Neelix it's ok I know you've been busy with keeping the ship together" Sam said with a smile on her face their quarters were slightly bigger then his own two bedrooms, a bath room, and a living room. When the Captain had been told that Samantha was expecting she had authorized that she get larger quarters. This of course had made some of the other crew members envious in the early days of the Voyage but that had faded with time as more important things had come into in their lives. Samantha did concede than normal but she did have an active three year old to contend with.

"Why Sam I have no idea what you're talking about" Neelix gave her a great big smile as he entered the quarters proper.

"O come Neelix everyone knows this ship would be a mess whit you hear to help" Sam told him

"Ooo I don't know about that I just do what I can for my friends if that helps then, so be It, I'm happy either way" Neelix said trying to be convening he but Samantha Wildman was no one's fool as she gazed at him with a frown on her small round face.

"You know we couldn't have coped without you Neelix, I mean you just look how much you helped me when I was pregnant with Ruth" Sam said as tears started to fill up in her soft blue eyes. "When I lost her!" Samantha said the tears from the bad memories finally overwhelmed her.

"Shhh….shhh...shh it's all right Sam" Neelix said as he went to her a held her in his arms "shhh Sam it's going to be aright you'll see I promise we will get through this shhh" he coo's "let it out" Samantha tried not to dump her worry's on Neelix she really did try but she wasn't strong enough.

"I'm sorry Neelix I'm sorry" Sam says as she sniffs "I just can't stop thinking about what might happen to Naomi, it's like Ruth all over again. I can't stop thinking what might happen to her if….if…..if" Samantha stooped taking unable to speak the thought out loud but Neelix knew what she meant.

"Sam do you want to talk about it?" Neelix asked with kindness his own tears begging to flow now.

"I can't Neelix I just can't I lost her Neelix I lost my little girl and then like nothing happen I had her again from the other Voyager. There she was she was just like Ruth in every way and I knew that she was mine even though she wasn't but she _just felt_ right" she said trailing of "and now its happing all over again. I can't lose her Neelix I just can't. Greskrendtregk will never forgive me" Samantha said on the verge of hysteria now the lone weeks of stress had taken their toll on all the crew but most of them didn't have a child to wary about and none outer then Samantha had have children on Voyager.

"How you listen to me Samantha" Neelix said holding her still so he could look her in the eye "I know it hard to lose the one's you love, I lost my whole family when Rinax fell" Neelix said this putting a hand under her chin and making her see that this pain they both shared. "You have done nothing wrong and I believe thought I have never met your husband. I know he'll forgive you…you know why he will?" Neelix said and Sam just shook her head.

"Because there is nothing to forgive, you have a kind loving beautiful happy heath little girl who adores you" he said trailing off "You know there is an old Talaxian saying for times like this" Neelix said.

"What's that?" Sam sniffs her tears slowing down their cascading flow down her small face.

"When the path ahead of us is coved in shadows and the path behind us is it too far to see then we look around and see the sun and follow its path" Neelix said knowing full well he confused her with his old folk story as most of the crew tended to be when he used his Talaxian quotes or story's. "It means that no manner how bad things get or how lost we are there is always going to be the light because the shadows cannot be without the light" he said with conviction.

"Neelix I'm a little confused that doesn't really make sense, but I think I understand it" Sam said getting her composure back drying her tears on her sleeve.

"I know it's not the best one" Neelix said admitted as he started smiling "but it makes you feel better doesn't it?" Neelix asked.

"Yes…yes it dose" Sam said in surprised.

"Then it done its job" Neelix said proud of himself then he letting go of her and getting a glass of water for her and handed her a hankie.

"Thanks" Sam said taking both the drink and hankie from her friend. Taking a long sip of the water and drying her tears as the door to Namoi room open with either Neelix or Samantha noticing.

"Neeelikk!" they head the ever loveable squeal of little Namoi Wildman as she ran from her room and lurched herself at his leg holding it tightly as her little arms could. Her face full of joy as she looked up at him, her tiny forehead horns moved up in an arcing movement as the way they tended to do when she was exited. She was wearing her latest favourite blue and pink pyjamas which were covered with pictures of cute cartoonish animal faces, having recently grown out of the last set of cloths due to her latest growth spurt.

"Ooh who's this then? This can't be my Namoi your too big and grown up" Neelix said with amusement filling his voice.

To this Namoi only giggled. "It's me Neelix you're so silly". Namoi said seeming to buy fully into his tomfoolery. Giving Samantha time to wiped her face removing all traces of her tears.

"So has been good girl then hums?" Neelix asked.

Namoi nodded her head up in down making her long strawberry blond hair wave. "Yes Neelix I have," she said then motioned to be picked up.

To which Neelix complied grunting with the weight of his god daughter she wasn't exactly as _little_ as she had been and he wasn't as young as he once was. "So what have you been doing then hum?" Neelix asked.

"I learned how to grow plants with Kes and can count to a 6 hundred and memorised the star fleet oath" Namoi said proud then added quietly so her mum couldn't hear and with a slight smile "helping Mummy, she's been sad." Namoi said knowing.

"That amazing" Neelix said winking at her "and I'm hear how and we can make your Mummy feel better together hum." Neelix told her cheerfully but Namoi started to lost interest with the conversion and started playing with his whiskers.

Neelix and Sam played with Namoi in till both were too tied to play anymore and mother and child fell asleep on Sam's bed. Neelix smiled took a sheet and coved them both up and left their quarters saying quietly as he left "good night sleep tight and dream of better places. Computer lights off please" Neelix left there room and headed down the hallway to the turbo lifts but before he could enter he saw crewmen Jane Farwell and Ensign Chan Denim arguing over something. He smiled to himself 'a moral office's job is never done' as we walked over to talk some sense into the two old friends.

**Sick bay**

Over the last few days both the Doctor and Kes continued their work on the remains of the Borg skeleton which had been taken out of Holding and arranged on a table. There wasn't much left and what was left was badly degraded from exposure. To call it a skeleton was a bit of an overstatement. All that was left intact was a rusted and pitted black, silver synthetic arm whit the assimilation tubes fully erect. As well as a few other implants that had been salvaged a bio-transponder, a cortical node implant and a few scraps of exo-plate-amour over the rotted chest bones of the Borg body. On the computer screens all over the sick bay medical information scrolled. Some were autopsies reports others were psychological studies and theories about the Borg collective mentality while others were assimilation records.

The Doctor picked up the artistically arm and said to Kes "these injection tubules are the first step in the assimilation process. They penetrate the body or technology and deliver the nano probes. From there assimilation is nearly instantaneous" The Doctor said then notice Kes had a dreamlike expression on her face. Kes looked down on the remains what had once been living person and could help but shutter as a cold emotion that was not entirely her own as a feeling of dread entered her unguarded mind. She merely add tributed this to her lack of sleep and her grim job of helping the Doctor study the corpus. No matter how many times she had work with this corpus she could not help but think about who this person might have been in life? Now thought who ever this person had been was now a rotted and broken corpus on a table. Usually these thoughts made her feel a great swell of pity but know she didn't feel pity or remorse she felt something darker hammer into her skull but could not identify these strange thoughts but she felt that they were escalating in both number and intensity recently. She had been had the increasing feelings of dread and hopelessness that had snuck into her mind recently but these were more intense.

"Kes did you hear me?" The Doctor having finale noticed the strange expression on Kes's face. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Sorry Doctor I have a headache, I have been having some trouble sleeping lately" Kes said her tiredness showing for the first time as the dark emotions increased their hold on her mind tenfold. She could not stop a feeling of revulsion and anger kame over her.

The Doctor walked over to Kes with tricorder in hand and started scanned her. As he did so an expression of puzzlement crossed his face as he tried to make sense of the readings. "Hum have you been felling unwell lately?" the Doctor asked concern showing on his face.

"A little I have been having some strange feeling lately but I'm fine Doctor." Kes said "it's parsing now" she lied, if anything it was getting worse but she wanted to change the subject before he took her duty. The Doctor was a good friend but sometimes he missed the big picture and would get distracted our obsessed with the little details. It reminded her of one of Tom's 20 century sayings 'can't see the wood though the trees'. "You were saying about the first stage of assimilation" Kes said changing the subject.

"Well yes the first step the victim is injected with millions of nano-probes and from there assimilation is almost instances with the nano-probes attacking the cells of the body and reprogramed them like a virus to carry the infection thought the body. _Effective_ little devils they get the cells of their victim's own cells to do all the heavily lifting while they colonise and start grow implants to produce more nano-probes." The Doctor said both impressed and disgusted by the insidious design.

"Could we maybe make some kind of armour or shields to prevent the injection tubules from pressing the skin?" Kes asked.

"I'm afraid not Kes, these _tubules_ can perch any know alloy or shielding. So that tell me that the fight for the body must not be waged outside it but rather inside" The Doctor told her.

"How do you mean doctor?" Kes asked.

"We should be able to increase the immune systems response to recognise the nano-probes as a theatre it might not be enough to stop the assimilation process all together but it might slow it down. Enough so we would be able to flush the victim's systems and give them a chance of been saved" The Doctor said "Could you bring be sample 41 beta please?" he asked.

"Yes Doctor" Kes said as she walked over to a large jar of cellar test martials that they had been using as an analogue for the human body. She couldn't help but glance at the Borg body again. Then the she felt and over whelming sense of hatred and rage that had been growing inside her exploded filling her mind. Suddenly Kes wasn't on Voyager any more she was in a dark ruined corridors filled with sickly green lights she seem to be moving through them. She tried to control her movement but her body would not respond her actions like that of a dream or a memory. Then she saw a grub of Borg drones charging towards her and felt a deep uncontrollable rage fill her to the brink. She had to punch punish them even as they started firing green lasers built into their bodies but these weapon had no effect.

Before Kes could realise what was happen she descend on the drones like a wolf on sheep she ripped them apart there body falling in bloody waves arms torn from socket legs broken blood splatted every surface. The Borg tyred to fight back with blades and saws and drills but all there attracts failed to injury her. As the memory battle played out more Borg drones joined the Frey but they soon met the same fate as there fellows. Ripped apart or sprayed with acid that eat away at both skin and metal with ease leveeing nothing expect bloody goo behind. Once all the drones in the area were dealt with she start to build some kind of horrible monument with their broken body's serving as building blocks and to Kes's horror some of the drones were still alive. Then she went out of that corridor and repeat the process at least ten times each one more horrible then the last once that was complete she walked out of the dim hallways to a hole in the Borg vessel. Kes could now see Voyager burring slowly in space the bodies of her friends drifting in the empty vacuum.

Then she hear a voice not her voice or like any voice she had very heard before it was fuelled by hate, rage and fury. **"The week will perish. This whole realm will suffer. Surrender and die"** the voice boomed and as quickly as the vision had started the vision ended. She felt both drained and full changed at the same time as if a whole new universe was just oped up to her and her whole bold felt like going thought deep shocked therapy.

"Kes! KES! Are you all right?" Doctor said as his face slowly coming into focus as she opened her eyes

"Arrg" she grounded "I'm all right Doctor" Kes said this but she did not believe it she had bring her hand up to wipe the blood that was stemming from her nose.

"I don't think so Kes you just blacked out. You have been unresponsive for ten minutes" the Doctor said as he started to scan her with a tricorder but she waved him away.

"I'm all right really Doctor" Kes told him managing to stem the flow of blood from her nose and get up of the bio bed. "But I don't think we should be warred about the Borg" she said.

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked looking puzzled.

"Doctor something just came into my mind and played with it like it was a nothing and showed _things_… I couldn't stop it was like been held under water and my head was been cursed by a vice" Kes said trying to hold back the flood of tears of pain.

"What did you see?" the Doctor asked concerned.

"Doom, death….EVIL" Kes said as she moved away from the hovering Doctor.

"And where do you think you're going KES!" The doctor said grabbing his mobile emitter and trying to stand in her way.

"I have got to worn the Captain. Doctor Voyager is in great danger" Kes said not to be turn off by the Doctors actions.

"Kes you jest blacked out for 10 minutes and were attacked by some alien mind we have known idea what they may have done to you! Whoever they are?" the Doctor said trying in vain to stop her form leavening sickbay.

"Doctor I understand your worry but this is important" Kes said putting on her I MEAN BUINESS face on.

The Doctor gave a long suffering shy "One day I'm going to have a patient that will lesson to me" he said wistfully "I'll come with you" the Doctor offed kindly.

"No Doctor you have work here to complete and I'll only get in your way" Kes said with conviction.

"Fine but don't come crying to me when you head explodes" the Doctor said with hurt sarcastic and with that Kes left the sickbay behind cleaning the last of the blood from her face and asked the computer were the captain was.

**The bridge**

The Bridge was a hive of active with crew members going this way and that competing one task and then handing to the next one this had been the routine for the last few weeks you could taste stress in the air and the last thing they needed Kes knew were prophecies of death and doom.

Kes walk out of the turbo left to see the definition of ordered chaos she could see the exhausted faces of the crew especial Captain Janeway and perhaps to lesser extent Commander Chakotay who wore his usually frown of concern. Commander Chakotay she thought to herself was a very good and honourable man despite the tragedies of his that she knew he rarely talked. He was a man who also held a lot of himself back he was almost Vulcan in his control he was very hard to read but if you scathed the surfers there was a deep and unmatchable reserve of strength to his character. Captain Janeway on the outer had was almost too easy to read the stress of the last few weeks coming of her in waves as she wound herself into a ruck of a woman. Thought Kes would never speak openly of such things.

"Kes what are you doing up hear? Is there some wrong?" Janeway asked final seen Kes standing in the entrance of the bridge.

"Sorry to disturb you captain but I just had a vision" Kes said shaking herself of her introspection.

"Kes I was under the impression that you had stopped trying to exploring your visions after that Crono poisoning that sent _you back thought your own time stream_?" Chakotay question as he remembered that event very well indeed. He like Kathryn hated time travel as a rule and the thought the both he and the Kathryn would die in some unspecified way and time in a reality or time line that he was deterred not to fallow and such Kes had given them some information that she was able to gleam from her trip from the end of her lift to the very start back to the present.

"That's correct Commander" Kes told him "but this wasn't my vision it was something else's" Kes said.

"It would be unlike that the Borg would community such a manner" Tuvok stated.

"Your Tuvok right I don't think it was the Borg I believe there maybe something else out there I'll rather not decease it hear if possible" Kes said looking around at the bridge crew as if to explain her meaning.

"Right of cause" Janeway said "come into my ready room Kes you to Tuvok." "Commander you have the bridge". Janeway said as the three left

"Right Captain" Chakotay said then looked around to the rest of the crew "well what are all you waiting for?" Chakotay said seriously told and the crew who had stopped their work to listen in on the conversation but been told of by Chakotay they quickly got back to work.

**Captain ready room**

"Aright Kes what's all this about" Janeway asked nervily knowing from experience that Kes is visions and felling were to be avoided whenever possible. Firstly there was the temporal prime directive to consider. She and messed with that once to many times for her likening. Secord was Kes visions and feelings were all well and go in theory but not to be relied upon because of their inexact nature and thereby she distrusted the visions she was a woman of science and because Kes's visions were by their nature imprecise and often misleading as much as they could be helpful at times.

"Captain for the last few weeks I have been experiencing odd and disturbing dreams and been have quite bad headaches but I thought this was due to my work in the sickbay helping the Doctor whit his study of the Borg corpse. While in the sickbay I had a vision but it was not like the ones I have had before. This vision was more real in a way and unlike my own experiences this was more like an attack or like I was seeing though _something_ else eyes." Kes said glad that she had getting it of her chest the wait of what she had seen had disturbed her greatly.

"Could you describe the vision for us Kes?" Tuvok asked.

"Of course" Kes said and begin telling them both about been on what seemed to be a Borg ship under attack and about the violence and cruelty that had been betrayed a upon the Drones and finest telling about the vision of Voyager destroyed and flouting lifeless in space and the voice that had spoken to her.

The last thing I heard before the vision ended was _"The week will perish, our realm will a suffer, we destroy those who threating our purity. Surrender and die. _The last thing I felt was a burning hate unlike another I have ever felt before." Kes said.

"Tuvok your thoughts?" Janeway asked her old friend.

"Captain I believe it would be prudent to remain at high alert until we can assess the level of this possible new threat may or may not presented us. Kes and I should perform some psionic tests to ascertain the visions true meaning once Kes is rested enough to proceed" Tuvok said in his calm tones.

"Actual Tuvok I don't feel like resting at the moment" Kes said fleeing better than she had in days hell weeks.

"That is understandable but you have been under a lot of stress of late and you must have rest if you are to protected your mind form these visions" Tuvok said letting the tinniest amount of concern for his portage show though his mask of unfeeling.

"You don't understand Lieutenant I don't feel tried _not even a little_." Kes said this whit a look of revulsion on her face.

At this both the Captain Kathryn Janeway and Tuvok looked at each other concern showing on the Captains face but as perusal Tuvok portrayed no emotion.

"Kes maybe you should go see the Doctor and have him run a scan" Janeway told the younger woman trying not to make it an order.

"Captain I feel fine know really in fact I felt never better" Kes said acidly feeing like she had wake up from a deep sleep but without the effects of morning making her still fell tried again. Before Janeway or Tuvok could respond to that the com beeped.

"Captain you're needed on the bridge" the voice of Commander Chakotay came though the com.

"On my way" said Janeway then see look at Kes "Kes go see the Doctor and have him run an scan then get some sleep that an order" Captain Janeway said making shore Kes understood

"Yes captain" Kes said looking rather defeated.

"You go whit her Tuvok" Janeway told him.

"Of course Captain" Tuvok said levelly.

They left her ready room together Tuvok and Kes moving toward the turbo lift

"Captain we have just picked up _2 Borg ships_ heading our way!" Harry Kim said as the red alert started to ring thought the ship.

"KES SICKBAY NOW! TUVOK stay hear." Janeway order as the crew moved to battle positions. Kathryn moved to set in her chair beside a deeply worried Chakotay.

"How far away are they Ensign?" Chakotay asked to Harry quickly.

"_Six thousand light years and closing fast and its 5 now sir!"_ Harry said stock and fear playing across his face.

"5!" Janeway stated trying to sound cool under presser but could stop her voice shaking.

"7 Captain no 8…..11…14…..15 CAPTAIN WE HAVE 15 BORG CUBES ON AN INTERCEPED COUSE!" Harry said panic colouring his tones.

"This Captain Janeway to all crew we have BORG inbound to battles stations this is not a drill" Janeway ordered said keeping her voice level to disguise the fear she felt.

"CAPTAIN THEY JUST CAME OUT OF WARP and they are creating interference and stoping us creating a stable warp field" Tom said as he frantic typed on the console to keep them flying as well as avoid the Borg cubes.

"On screen" Janeway yelled.

The screen showed the massive formes of Borg cubes flying in formation closing in faster the fast on Voyager. The hole ship shock whit the forced violence of the vibrations as the ships closed in. The whole crew readied them self's for the fight of a life time but no fight came.

Chakotay braced himself for the inevitable words _'Resistance is futile'_ but they never came. Instead the Borg carpet going past them a high warp "what the hell was going on" he said as the ships past voyager but just as hope fired in his soul. Then one ship stopped moving and let out a green beam that went from deck to deck person to person covering everything in a green light.

"Captain there scanning us" Harry said his voice trance.

"Think happy thoughts" Janeway ordered her hands tensing as the green light coved the room. The green light disappeared and the Borg cube lift to join it fellows as they made all speed to were ever they were going.

"Well that was unexpected" Tom stated plainly not wishing to jinxes the crew.

"Harry I want you track those ships I want to know where they're going we are not out of the woods yet" Chakotay said his face equally parts relief and puzzlement.

"Yes Sir" Harry said letting his fear dissipate.

"Well maybe we have a garden angel after all hum Captain" Chakotay said trying to cut the tension that had filled to room in the few moments of their encounter with the Borg fleet.

"Maybe or maybe Borg have bigger fish to _fry_!" Janeway said considering the possibility that what Kes said could be true or at least partly.

"Captain what do you mean was there some in Kes vision that might explain this?" Chakotay said looking his Captain in the eye noting the confusion and worry that aged on her face.

"I don't know Chakotay but for now stand down red alert" Janeway order.

"Yes Captain" Chakotay said and the red alert stoped going off and they went back to Tactical alert.

"Tom keeps heading for the north west passage" Captain Janeway said

"Yes ma'am" Tom said.

"I'll be in my ready room Commander you have the Bridge" Janeway told him.

"Right Captain" so everyone could hear. "Are you shore you don't wont to grab a few hours of sleep maybe a bight to eat?" Chakotay asked her quietly "I or Tuvok could take over so you could catch a few hours' sleep" Chakotay offed even know he and Tuvok were also reaching the end of their endurance as much as she was.

"I'm fine Chakotay thank you" Janeway said with a tied smile and walked off to her ready room and study the Borg as she had done for the last few weeks.

**Captain's ready room**

A full day after their brief but instance encounter with the Borg fleet had set the Voyager crew on edge many believed that they must of some kind of guard angel watching over them. Even as the crew relaxed slightly they were still on high alert probably no one more than Kathryn Janeway who soon after the encounter with the Borg fleet had retreated in to her ready room like a bear trying to hid from a hunting party. For Chakotay he was starting to feel very much like one of the hapless hunters trying in vain to get Kathryn to stop obsessing over data that she had read and re read more time than he could remember. Battling a sad shy knowing that he would not stop or change her obsessive nature Chakotay pressed the door control that would let him enter the Captain ready room with pads in hand.

"We have just completed the latest senor sweep so far so good we clear for now" Chakotay told her coolly.

"And that fleet?" Janeway asked not looking up from her computer.

"It seems we have lost track of them for the moment. We are starting to get more interface from the north west passage that we didn't anticipate but Harry and B'Elanna are working on it" Chakotay told her trying and failing not to be conceded whit the sudden disappearance of the Borg fleet.

"Well that's good to know" Janeway said as if she hadn't even heard him.

"You know that we have studied all the information we have on the Borg and buy my calculations you haven't slept in the last few days and neither of us have eating since yesterday. Care to join me?" Chakotay asked trying to get her out of the ready room and out of the slump she had been in for the last day or so.

"Thank you Chakotay but I'm not hungry" Janeway said stubbornly.

"I see so what are you reading anyway?" Chakotay asked trying to make her open up to him.

"Arrre" Janeway shied "I have been going over every bit of data we have on the Borg and the personnel log entrees of all the Starfleet captains that have had interactions whit the Borg trying to gain any insight into their behaviour" Janeway told him evenly.

"And?" Chakotay asked.

"I have gone over every encounter with the Borg from when Q put the enterprise into the path of that first Borg cube to the battle of wolf 395. Anything to give me an insight into the Borg." Janeway stated grumpily.

"Found anything new?" Chakotay asked knowing she hadn't but willing to humour her.

"In the words of Captain Jean‑Luc Picard. In their collative state the Borg are completely without mercy, pity or remorse such things are beneath them and are driven by one will alone the will to conquer they are beyond forgiveness" her voice sounding almost like the great Captain of the enterprise then she spoke again "then there is Captain Amasov of the endeavour. It is my opinion that the Borg are a close to pure evil as we have ever in counted" Janeway said sound just like Amasov which Chakotay could only give a slight smirk and a small chuckle at these impressions.

"What so funny?" Janeway asked looking up from the computer for the first time.

"Nothing" Chakotay lied and try to hold back his snickering's.

"No tell me" Janeway ordered.

"You gust sounded like Amasov then you were using his infection" Chakotay told her keeping his face strait.

"I was not!" Janeway cried out in Denial.

"You were and before that you were doing a pretty good Picard" Chakotay told her a small chuckle broke through to the surfers.

"Chakotay! She exclaimed "You can't be serious" Janeway said embarrass.

"O I am I was half expiation you to say _make it so number 1_ Chakotay said in a woeful impression of Captain Picard then started laughing outright.

"O don't you start with that I'm still the Captain hear and I can send you to the brig!" Janeway almost squalled.

"Doing that won't make it and less funny or true" Chakotay said give her his best smile glad that he had got her out of her slump.

"So I lose again" Janeway shied in defeat.

"It not like that Kathryn there, isn't any same in impersonating the greats. Ensign Tara douse a pity good Janeway" Chakotay told her have seen a smile grow across her face.

"Remember me to have a talk with Ensign Tara when this is over" Janeway said trying to stop herself from chuckling out loud.

Wonting to change the subject "So what really bothering you I know that fleet was a close call but we have been in Borg space for 6 weeks now and we are only a few days away from the north west passage" Chakotay stated.

"It what Kes told me about her vision and then that fleet?" Janeway said in agitation "That tells me something is up" janeway said.

"What was her vision?" Chakotay asked 'that fleet was acting a little strange well strange for the Borg' he thought though he didn't really now.

"She said that she saw Borg beaning killed by the hundreds and Voyager been destroyed" Janeway told him.

"We have always treated Kes visions with a grain of salt in the past. Even if Borg are been killed then that has nothing to do whit us right?" Chakotay asked.

"True but I'm still worried Chakotay what if her vision is trying to tell us something what if we under threat from something else?" Janeway asked "something worse?" she stated.

"Well isn't that a good thing? Enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that?" Chakotay asked not likening were Kathryn mind was taking her.

"Maybe but what or who could threaten the Borg. They would have just as powerful if not more so and as we both know all too well power corrupts" Janeway stated trailing of.

"Maybe Captain but I don't see how the Borg been under threat or not from an outer faction is any of our concern" Chakotay stated truthfully

"Chakotay _15 Borg ships_ just went past us and didn't even bother to say a word. Doesn't that tell you anything? " Janeway asked. "Don't get me wrong I have no doubt that this ship and crew could outwit 1 or 2 Borg ships maybe 3 at the most, but 15 by all rights we should be drones now!" Janeway said as her mind went jumping into its darkest imaginations.

"Kathryn you letting your fear get the best of you." He told her sternly "All I can say or do is being here at your side as will this crew" Chakotay told her whit conviction griping her shoulder.

"Thank you Chakotay that means a lot. I just can't stop myself from wounding is it all worth it. The Caretaker, the kazon or the Viidian's and now the Borg and some unknown other faction we have no clue about. When do I say enough is enough we could of settled on any number of M class planets but here we are going into the heart of darkness and…I'm afraid there may be no way out this time" Janeway said with resonation as she got from her chair to look out into the black void of space.

"Captain there's a saying my farther told be after my mother died I never forgot it" Chakotay said reluctant "_Chakotay it is not for us to know where the river will flow it is all we can do to flow with it as a part and hope we find our self's on better shores_" he said reluctantly he didn't like talking about his mother's death or his father's the gilt from failing his people and family still burned in him like if all that loss only happened yesterday instead of life time's ago.

"A wise man your father. I wish I could have known him" Janeway said with Sympathy turning away from the window to face him.

"Sometimes I feel I would do _anything_ to see them both one last time to say the things I never got to say when they were whit me but then I remember" Chakotay said trailed of as a look of acceptance and sad memory's crossed his face.

"Remember what Chakotay?" Janeway asked softy.

"That they will always with me both in my heart and gilding me down the river. We all flow down that river in time Kathryn you, me our friends, family's our enemy's everyone we can't escape it one day we all flow down the riven when it's our time. My people believe…..I believe death isn't something to fear. It's unknown but it is all so a certainty and that is something to cherish" Chakotay told her.

"I wish I had your faith Chakotay I really do but if it's all hopeless then what stops you from giving up?" Janeway asked wounding if he really saw the universe in that light

"I never said it was hopeless but hope copes in many forms" Chakotay stated.

"O how's that?" Janeway asked.

"Do you know the Greek Legend of Pandora's box?" Chakotay asked.

"Well of course a Greek girl is given a box from the gods and told never to open it." Janeway said wounding what this had to do with anything. "Until one day her curiosity got the better of her and let the seven deadly sins out into the world" Janeway stated.

"Yes that about the short story but what about the rest?" Chakotay asked.

"What rest?" Janeway asked she wasn't as familiar with Greek Legends as she once was when she studied some of them in school they just never appealed to her but she knew Chakotay's love for anthropology would mean he would know more than her which she hated because she hated to loss.

"Yes there is Kathryn after Pandora could see what she has done and before any more can come out of the box she closes the box but the it wasn't a sin she kept in the box it was hope she kept that inside" Chakotay told her.

"Yes well I know that much" Janeway blushed as she lied she had forgotten about that part.

"You misunderstand stand me Kathryn those seven deadly sins will fade in time but there is one thing we will always need" Chakotay walk up to her and looked her in the eye "Hope because that will always be whit us" Chakotay said hoping he wasn't sounding to cheesy.

'Well that is one way of looking at things' she thought looking up to her best friend and commander. "Well I suppose it's how we got this far" Janeway admitted.

"It's played its part but how we really got this far is buy relying on each outer all I can say is that you're not alone hear Kathryn I'll be here by your side every step of the way" Chakotay said know he had convinced her and himself that their course was the right one.

"Captain, Commander your needed on the bridge" LTCOM Tuvok voice came though the com.

"Let's hope it good news" Janeway said with a smirk. They both left the ready room

"Report Lieutenant" Chakotay ordered Tuvok.

"Sir Ensign Kim has just managed to brake though the interference the ships seniors have been readying and has just about to re-establish visible contact whit the Borg fleet that past us" Tuvok answer the red alert already flushing

"This is Captain Janeway to all prepare for battle stations" Janeway said pressing her com badge and the whole ship darkened and the crew once again readied for the fight to come.

"Should they be hundreds of light years away buy know?" Chakotay asked.

"On screen as soon as possible Harry!" Janeway ordered.

The bridge view screen flicked to life showing the aftermath of what must have been a giant battle were the Borg were clearly the losers. Their huge cucks were noting more now then broken remints flouted in and out of vision and around those broken hulls the void was filed with the broken bodies of countless drones. It sickened the crew to see that not all the drones were in on peace's their body broken into bits trailing frozen blood and other bloody fluids around them.

"What the hell happen to them?" Tom asked looking more than a little green in the gills.

"There were 15 ships in that fleet you can't tell me this is all that's left?" Janeway half asked half stated.

"No captain there defend more than 15 vessels hear from what I'm reading there was around 30 ships hear at one stage but know" Harry said trailing off still looking shell shocked at the ruins before them.

"Are there any saviours?" Chakotay asked concerned.

"Yes Commander but we are having difficulty getting conformed locks on them" Tuvok said "I'm also detecting 2 weapon signatures one is Borg the outer of unknown origin" Tuvok told them.

"Wait what that" Janeway asked pointing what looked like a long orange and brown growth on one of the larger chucks of Borg dearies "Tom magnified the screen" she order.

"Yes mama" Tom said as he typed in the needed data the screen focused on the growth it was long about 6 shuttles in length and 3 in wreath it was slightly bluish at the front milled and end the front had three long prongs coming from it and it ended in three tail thins and beside the orange and brown colours they could also see veins of silver working up and down the body which seemed to be pulsing and moving with waves of life.

"What the hell is that thing?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm scanning it sir it appears to be organic but beyond that the scanners can't make hands or tails" Harry said.

"Prepares a bio weapon of some kind or a space faring organism" Tuvok suggested.

"Harry are you reading an atmosphere on that clunk of cube"? Janeway asked Harry.

"Yes Captain it seems that they have stable gravity and atmosphere we may even be able to beam though it but not near that thing is seems to be emitting some kind of interface" Harry stated nervously.

"Good work Harry." Janeway told him "Chakotay take an away team over there I want to know what the hell that thing is and bring back any useful Borg data you find" Janeway ordered.

"Yes Captain, Harry, Tuvok you're with me" Chakotay said looking back at the captain then he pressed his com "Lieutenant Gregory Andrews, Ensign Fredrick Murphy, Crewman Jewry Patter meet me at transport 1". Chakotay ordered.

Chakotay, Tuvok and Ensign Harry Kim left the bridge together and made their way through the crew in the hull ways moving quickly to were ever they had been sent made their way to the armoury to get weapons needed as well as emergency medic kits all were enquired the Doctors new immune system additive which to the doctor had said would slow down the assimilation process they met Lieutenant Gregory Andrews, Ensign Fredrick Murphy who was a tall Canadian man whit light brown hair large grey eyes a large chin and wore the gold of Security team and thou not the smartest guy in Starfleet was one you always wanted to have your back. His crooked nose and outer battle scars were evidence of this. The wounds had never healed right ever since he had deafened Tal Celes from been assaulted by a very angry Nour'val. The Nour'val were large Insecticide race which at the time looked like really big cockroaches standing just over 5 feet tall the crew had briefly had shore leave on one of their space stations back in year 1. The wounds had never healed right because apparently Nour'val naturally made a venom from there exoskeleton which interfered with the normal Starfleet medic tools ability to heal.

Then their Crewman Jewry Patter who was a pretty but shy, short Indian woman who wore the blue of science officer who work often worked alongside Kes in Aeroponics. She had long wavy black hair which usually was usually hung lossy over her small frame but now was tied in a ponytail. She had light brown eyes and open face that did not display a trace of losing most of her family in a Cardassian attack and been brutalised in one of their war camps for mouths Intel fate had pushed her to become one of his Maquis crew. She had also been the Valjean closed thing to a medic but she hated medicine with a passion as having been made something of assistant to the Cardassian medical officer to treat the very people the held her captive.

"Commander" Gregory Andrews greeted looking concerned.

"Ok I'm guessing you three wont to know what you're doing here." Chakotay asked

"Yes sir" Ensign Fredrick Murphy said almost eager to see some action.

"Well we are going to transporting over to one of the cucks of Borg cube which seems to have some short of organic growth or ship latched onto it. We are also going to go try and get as much data as possible from the Borg data banks" Chakotay told them.

"Sir have sensors detected any active Borg drones on the remains of the vessel?" Jewry Patter asked.

"Yes but the growth seems to coursing some interface whit the senores so we don't know how many drones are still alive." Chakotay stated looking each one in the eye hoping to gage their moods as they absorbed this information.

"We unstained the risks Sir but if it's all the same to you. I coming whit you" Gregory Andrews stated.

"Me to Sir I an't afraid of no drones….been inching for some action" Fredrick Murphy said this near glee in his voice.

"I'm shore the Doc can give you something for that" Patter said teasing Monroy "like you even need to ask Commander I'm with you all the way Sir" Jewry Patter told him.

"That's good to know we won't pick a fight if we don't need to this is a resonances mission first" Chakotay said looking at the easily exited Murphy as he said this.

"Ok" Chakotay said then nodding to crewman Chell who at the transporter controls and Lieutenant Gregory Andrews, Ensign Fredrick Murphy, crewman Jewry Patter step to join him, Harry Kim and Lieutenant Tuvok and Commander Chakotay on the transporter platform.

"Ok Chell beam us over, and keep a tight lock on us" Chakotay order

"Yes Commander" Chell said nervously.

**The Borg derelict **

Chakotay and his away team beam over into the ruined cube. The Buzzes of the transported fading the away team already had there phaser rifles up and ready for an attack. Their eyes scanning the gloomy insides of the ruined cube but they soon wish they hadn't. Inside the cube like something out of a horror and not something any of them ever forget. It was dark almost pitch back then only lights were those created by flicking sickly green been cast buy the broken Borg technology and small fires. The atmosphere was hot and humid not unlike an overworked factory an oppressive heat and the air was stale and racked of death. The true horror of this place was the fact the floor was covered in dead drones. Those on the away team were not unfamiliar with death many of them fought and survived many a battles both hear in the delta quadrant but back home. This place thought racked of burnet flesh and sourced metal and other scents that no one wanted to identify it was like walking into the gates of hell.

"All right Gregory you take Murphy and Jewry you go that way" Chakotay ordered pointing down one dark hallway "keep an open com at all times but remember don't act treating to any drones you come arouse and they won't attack you I think they will have better things on their mines. Document and report if you find any information you find. If you get lost or turned around Ronda-view back hear or get Chell to beam you back. Don't for the love of god don't go wounding of and I want you three to watch each outers backs and com us every 10 minutes Andrews" Chakotay ordered the outer team.

"Yes sir" the three said in unison as the moved off into the darkness of the cube.

"Ok let's check out whatever the hell that growth thing is and get some Borg info I won't out of here as soon as possible" Chakotay told to Harry and Tuvok.

Chakotay, Tuvok and Harry moved off into the one of the outer dark hallway heading in the direction of the growth and hopeful answers. Their moved were as fast as possible though the crammed body filled hall as they could. They hadn't seen many drones liven drones yet but they had seen plenty of dead not all of the body they found drones were in one piece many of them were missing body parts or were so damaged their bodes looked like they had been ripped apart some were even still twitching. They move deeper into the cube they finally found some living drones moving over the dead ones like crows or other carrion eaters removing the bodies of the dead from the hall or removing pieces of cyber. The drones were using those pieces to repair the walls or other active drones. To Chakotay's horror one drone's been salvaged was still very much alive but rammed into a nearby wall buy a mettle beam that had fallen from and overhead walk way to run though it left arm the other drones to his discussed started ripping its legs, arms and outer implants from its body. Harry and Chakotay had stope themselves from been sick and even Tuvok looked disturbed by the drones actions.

The horrors they faced didn't end there as the away team move past the savaging drones into a large room which were filled with verging sizes of large glass campers Chakotay knew what these campers were for. The Starfleet data base had described simular chambers on some of the racked of cubes in the alpha quadrant. These were manufacturing chambers were none adults who were assimilated were in tombed inside to grown into full drones in half the time it would normally take their victims to reach adult hood. Most were empty which he thanked the spirits for but one was not. In one chamber there was a body if what looked like a boy of around 13 was standing hooked up to all manner of dead machines and tools. Chakotay and the outers approached the chamber they could see of the boy's body was submerged in a vile green goo was the boy look almost human expert he had three eyes one on the middle of his face and long elf ears like Kes's. The rest of him was coved in malformed Borg implants which one of which was had replayed his left eye whit a metal patch with prongs coming out of it.

"Is there anything we can do for _him_ Harry?" Chakotay asked at this Harry moved over to a nearby console and studied it for a few moments.

"Commander need I remind you that rescuing Drones was not one the mission objectives" Tuvok said cold as ever then added more gently "I know you wish to help this boy as do I but it is too late for him. Logical the Borg would have some form of Security system on installed their manufacturing chambers and relacing the boy would alert the active drones on this vessel to our presence" Tuvok finished.

"Harry?" Chakotay asked given the Vulcan and stun look.

"Sorry Sir but Lieutenant Tuvok is right from what I can see getting him out of this thing. We are already too late he is already dead according to this" Harry said pointing to the console "his hearts stop betting at 06:32am" Harry said all the colour having darning from his face.

Chakotay nodded to this saying under his breath 'look after this one sprits.' he prayed and really hoped that someone was hearing him. "Ok I seen enough hear let's get to that growth and that info" Chakotay said.

The away team moved away from the manufacturing chambers and were getting every close to the growth both teams had been on the ruined vessel for around 3 hours when the away team lead by Lieutenant Andrews called in.

"Commander" Andrews voice came thought the com which crackled with static interference.

"What is it Andrews? Found anything?" Chakotay asked.

"Sir we come up with some overhear but it much must of the data nods a frayed sir and Jewry Patter burned with some steam coming from some kind up power core thing" Andrews told.

"Is she aright Lieutenant?" Chakotay asked worried.

"I'm fine sir just a flash wound" Jewry Patter said even thought they could all hear her pain.

"How bad is it really Gregory?" Chakotay asked

"Second degree burns sir I'm taking my team back to the transport sight. Sir we did see some odd looking drones over here sir" Andrews told him.

"Odd how it what way can you describe them Gregory?" Chakotay asked.

"Shore they were a lot bigger than most of the other drones or what's left of them we have seen the look like they could built to take on a hover tank one on one Commander" Andrews told him.

"Right understood get your team back to Voyager" Chakotay said.

"Well do sir and I think I might be having a stiff drink sir later" Andrews admitted.

"I know what you mean Chakotay out" Chakotay said.

"Commander we found something that may be of interest" Tuvok said to him having moved up the hall way during the conversation.

"Be right there" Chakotay said as we walk around a dead drone hang out of its alcove.

Chakotay walked into another large chamber whit yet great horrors were on display. There was a pile of drone bodies or at least parts of bodies every full were in tacked but it wasn't as fill they had all been dumped hear with unknown purpose there was a semblance that this was some kind of sick warring or monument to cruelty.

"What is it?" Harry asked to no one in particular looking on the verge of been sick.

"It appears similar to the imagery Kes descried from her vision" Tuvok said told them looking at green in the gills himself.

"I think I'm going to be sick" Harry started.

Chakotay thought he saw some out of the corner of his eye he look again at the pile of bodies one was still twitching then it spoke in a broken voice but Chakotay could not make out what it was saying so he move closer.

"I'm so sorry" Chakotay said sincerely to the broken body of a male drone looking in his one reaming real eye which was as black as the void and seemed to be weeping grey blood. It spoke again and this time he wise he had not heard it.

"Killl…..kil…..kill me…kill me please" the drone said in a brock in voice as he cough up more grey blood.

Tuvok having over heard the Commander and the near dead drone specking said this "do you know what happing to you could you inform us on what events transpired hear?" Tuvok asked.

"Kill me" the drone answered.

"Do you remember who you were?" Chakotay asked knowing that the Borg Nero-link must have been broken because of the drone referred to himself in the first person.

"Five of ten Tactical Adjunct of Unimatrix 567 no…..that wasn't my name my name was Kalled Preyed" the drone said his voice getting harder to hear as he hacked up more blood.

"Kalled can you tell us what happed hear?" Tuvok asked.

Kalled tried to talk but only sprat up garish blood then said in a very small voice "under attack Species 8472 border cube repair cube 10239". Requesting aid no response cube 10239 deemed irrelevant please kill me" Kalled said more blood coming from his mouth nose and ears.

"We will end your suffering soon I promise but can you tell us were your from before you were assimilated?" Chakotay asked wanting to know if maybe one day they might find Kalled home plant or maybe some family and inform them what had happed to him.

"Sector 212 planet 0234 no that's what they call it. My home issss Crallen prime Bata quadrant" Kalled said his voice getting even more hard to hear "please kill me before I hear them again" Kalled said pledging know.

"Thank you Kalled Preyed" Chakotay said he levied his rifle at Kalled head turning up the phaser to kill. Kalled closed his real eye and stared silently mouthing a pray to what every gods his people believed in. Before Chakotay could fire and end Kalled Preyed suffering he started to fit and then died. Chakotay lowered the phaser as Kalled Preyed was no more just another dead drone in a pile of dead drones Harry Looking away from this to a point in the distance a tears running down his face and even Tuvok looked to be moved in some way but too Vulcan to be easy read.

"Let's go" was all Chakotay said taking on last look at the broken body of Kalled Preyed there was a look of peace on his dead face now.

Two hours later the away them found what they were looking for it was a hole in the hull it was 7 meters in diameter and oval in shape and a dark orange colour and smelled of nothing any of them could identify. The air around the opening was rack with the stench of death but that did not deter a drone that was standing in the hole trying to stick its assimilation tubes into the fleshly wall again and again but each time a little shock of light replied its attracts.

"It appears to be trying to assimilated this tissue and it appears as if it failing" Tuvok commented.

"Commander I found an intact data nod over hear" Harry said over at a far wall "it'll take me a few minutes to upload then we can take it back to Voyager" Harry told him.

"Ok Harry you do that while Tuvok and I will have a look in side of this _thing_ then we'll all get the hell of hear" Chakotay said whit determination.

Harry watched Chakotay and Tuvok disappear into the hole his only company was the drone trying to assimilate the fleshy wall and the dead drones lying all round him staring at him with long dead eyes. "Please hurry" Harry said quietly as the ship groaned around him and he couldn't hem but look at the dead drones in the walls.

Tuvok and Chakotay went inside the growth scanning everything inside which didn't reveal much in side was like nothing ever of them had ever seen it was like been inside a liven breathing body with bones a tissue organs but one thing was clear this thing was alive and by their scans was some kind of ship.

"If this is a ship Tuvok then were are its crew if it has crew?" Chakotay asked Tuvok as they scanned a wall that he had said had healed after been hit by a Borg warhead.

"Perhaps they were assimilate or killed by the Borg drones on aboard this vessel" Tuvok said ever the logic Vulcan.

As they rounded a bone fleshy web of the ship which seemed to be grow mushrooms on it. They to saw at least ten dead drones piled up adjust a wall with some kind of red vane grown out of their bodies and they looked like they had been killed then in a great deal of pain.

"Somehow Tuvok I don't think we will be that lucky" Chakotay said running his tricorder over the body of a dead female drone.

"Realign on luck Commander is the height of been illogic" Tuvok answered curtly.

"Commander I got all the data I can from this data nod and I think we should get out of here now!" Harry's voice said cracking in thou the com.

"Why is that Ensign?" Tuvok asked.

"Because that drone that was trying to assimilate the wall just bolted like the hounds of hell where after it and there seems to be something very big heading our way and fast but the scans can't pin it down" Harry said panic entering his voice.

Tuvok and Chakotay met Harry outside the hole in the wall and the three of them ran fast as they could back to the transport sight but they could not escape the sound of battle that was coming from what seemed to be all-around them get louder and louder until.

They were insight of the transport something huge and spider like thing bust from a wall battling half a dozen drones. It was the strangest alien any of them had ever seen it was over 10 feet tall its skin was a greyish brownish, orange mix it seem to have two very long spindly arms ending in bird like hands and walk on 3 backward facing legs it torso was the only thing similar to a humans body and it head was large a squad like but had no mouth or ears. The things eyes were an evil yellowy whit a black x as the irises. It was fighting a group of drones and seemed to be winning. Ripped them apart with its bare hands the drones blood spraying in all directions just then it took a swipe at on drone and clip harry Kim frowning him the rest of the way toward the transport sight harry came crashing down hard and start screaming in unbelievable pain just as Tuvok and Chakotay rushed to aid their falling friend. More drones joined the fight but these ones were defeat from the others the away team had seen so far these one where much bigger had more arms and legs then the more humanoid drones the away team had come cross.

Buy the looks of them they were built for one thing battling this monster Chakotay remembered what Andrews had said. These battle drones charged towered alien he thought that the Borg might win this battle but he was mistaken just before the battle drones could close the distance. The alien killed the last of the normal drones just looked at the battle drones and its skin seemed to change colour for a faction of a second then 3 of the battle drones fell to the ground or and started screaming in pain as their minds were left bracken. One of the battle drones seem to be able to get close enough to the alien and started hacking at it whit an arm that was more like a giant chainsaw then a normal arm the drone manage to hit the alien a few time when the alien pack the battle drone up like a child whit a toy but it didn't use it arm but its mind and started basing the drone on the walls like it was in a bad mood.

Chakotay yelled into the com why this was happing "Voyager emergency beam out NOW and beam us start to sickbay Harry been hart" he ordered

"Right away Commander" Chells voice came in.

Just as the alien competed it's tasked of basing the battle drone to death it notice the small Insect it had been stacking use there primitive beaming technology to have escaped its fury. It had looked so forward to braking there tiny minds apart just like it had done to these paretic drones that lay on the floor around its feet then it mind spoke to it comrades who were removing this scum from the universe **"Brother/sisters the insects have beamed away"** it said

"**Then we sour leave this ruin all the drones are dead or to damaged and I have rigged their piratic power core to explode" one of their number told the rest of the grope.**

"**Well done my sister/brothers we are heading to the ship a shoal hunt these vermin down and phage them from this universe just as we did these **_**Borg**_**" the lord of the grope said.**

"**At once my lord all hail the Undine the weak will parishes" the others in the grope said as they made their way toward there ship and to.**

**Back on Voyager **

The away them beamed strait into the sickbay aboded Voyager and Chakotay and Tuvok put the now unconscious Harry Kim on a nearby bio bed the Doctor came over from where he was still treating Jewry Patter whose face was coved by bandages to prompt healing. Kes who look somehow even worse as she slowly got up from another Bio bed to help with Harrys wounds if Chakotay was any judges she looked as if she had last a fight.

"What happed to Harry" the Doctor asked scanning the young Ensign.

"He was hit by an alien on board the Borg vessel it just clipped him and though him the length of a hall way" Chakotay answered.

"See I told you Doctor they were in danger" Kes added.

"What do you refer to Kes?" Tuvok asked.

"It's the outer thing it showed me you the Commander and Harry getting hurt" Kes said back hotly.

"What is Kes talking about Doctor?" Tuvok asked.

"About 15 minutes ago Kes start to get more visions like the first one but more instance saying you all about to be killed how if you don't mind I have to treat MR KIM now so everyone who's not in need of medic aid please leave." the Doctor said shoeing Tuvok away from Kes and Chakotay out the Door.

**Bridge**

Both Tuvok and Chakotay entered the bridge. "What they hell happen over their? Janeway asked clearly pissed that she had not been kept in the loop and one of her people had been hurt.

"Captain" Chakotay said out of breath still panting from the run "Harry got hurt by an _alien_ on board that ship but he now and it wasn't Borg I sagest we get out of here" Chakotay said taking his seat.

She nodded to Tom how now started to move the ship away from the Borg debris at higher is speeds possible

"Is Harry alright?" Janeway asked again.

"Ensign Kim is in the Doctor's care now Captain" Tuvok answer her question.

"Captain that thing from the Borg Cube just detached from the cube and is falling us at hinge impose" said crewman Galah Grimes from behind Operations. He was a thick set dark skinned Afghanistan man.

"On screen" Janeway order. The scene shows the strange Bio ship flying after them its front glowing with yellow power.

"Captain there power up weapons I think I can't get a good read out on that thing" Galah Grimes said in his deep Afghanistan act sent.

"Hail that ship" Janeway order.

"No response Captain there about fire I think" Galah Grimes told her.

"Tom evasive manoeuvres now" Chakotay ordered.

"Yes SIR" Tom said typing in the controls of the nav. Voyager ducked and weaved away from the ship why also trying to avoid the mess of the Borg debris which was no easy task but this kind if flying was what Tom lived for high speed and even higher stacks pure skill and he loved every minute of it.

"Captain there getting a lock on us" Tuvok said

"Not if I can help it" Tom answer back dialling more commands into the ships NAV

"Shield to full Captain" Tuvok said told her

"Ye of little faith" Tom said to Tuvok "Come you ugly peace of work show me what you got" Tom was saying as he dodged Voyager away from more weapons fire but even with Tom skills they were not fast enough as they were hit but not from the bio ship that was chasing them but an explosion coming from the ruined Borg ship that the away team was just on. The Voyager shock and lights blinked on and off but they reserved relative little damage but it was enough to allow the bio ship to get a clean shot on them. As the Bio ship fired a beam that just grazed the outer edge of their shields. The whole ship shock as if it had been hit by felt like a sun expanding. The lights and consoles all over the ship gave up on life as the sparked a failed and many of the crew hung on for dear life to whatever or whoever was closest.

"Damage report Tuvok" Janeway ordered seen the Vulcan wipe green blood from a cut above his right eye.

"Damage minable, decks 11 to 13 have lost power shield at 45% computer slow the respond we have hull bundling on decks 7 and 8 no KIA as yet reported Captain" Tuvok told her impassively.

"Well thank god for small mercies" Janeway exclaimed.

"Captain that ship that was attacking us it just sitting there and not moving" Galah Grimes said.

"Maybe that explosion did more damage to it than us" Tom said not believing it himself.

"Or they are savaging the kill the" Janeway said "Tuvok statins on weapons?" she asked.

"All weapons are fully working" Tuvok informed her.

"Then prepare to fire if were going out _we going out fighting_" Janeway ordered but before the bio ship or Voyager could fire on each other a small Borg scout ship which had appeared out of nowhere probably been detached in the last moments of life one of the larger ships started firing on the bio ship. It was clear to that entire Borg ship buy the angle of its attack had committed itself to a kamikaze run on the bio ship. The bio ship changed it weapon target to the Borg scout ship and fired it yellow death beam but missed it.

"Well let's not sit around hear" Chakotay said "Tom gets us the hell away from fear maxima speed" he order.

"Shore thing commander but we only have warp 6 right now" Tom told him dialling in the commands.

**Voyager **

Over the next few days later having seemingly left the killing grounds of this new conflict behind the crew continued their journey toward the North West passage but having had to stop at a large group of mentors floating though space to intact repairs. The ships damage was only minor and no one had been badly injured, expected for Ensign Harry Kim who was still fighting for his life in sickbay under the Doctors care. The senior staff expect for the Doctor, Harry and Kes who was helping the doctor and half being looked after herself after more mental assaults from this new foe. The rest of the stuff met her in the briefing room.

"Ok people what have we got so far?" Janeway asked no one in particular.

"Captain I been going over the Borg data that Harry was able to revive from the cube and I think I know why the North West passage is empty of Borg activity" B'Elanna Torres said moving to the rooms wall computer and tipping in the information the small screen showed hundreds of bio-ships flying though what look like a hole in space which seemed to shimmer like light and water on a clear day.

"There must be hundreds of them. Their know way we can use that passage now we barely expected one of those ships" Tom said the colour draining from his face.

"It's an invasion" Janeway said in horror "no wonder the Borg have been acting so strange there fight for their lives. B'Elanna did that data have anything on this Species?" she asked.

"There called Species 8472 and there not much else there Captain the Borg gain information by assimilation and from what I have been able to piece to gather these aliens can't be assimilated and if the Borg can't assimilate they don't understand the only thing is clear is that the Borg have been fight these guys for just over 16 mouths" B'Elanna told them.

"So this Species 8472 can't be assimilated then is that what you're saying?" Janeway asked B'Elanna.

"Yes Captain and from what I can tell they have tried everything this Species 8472 have been wiping the Borg's ass from _first contacted_" B'Elanna answered.

Janeway seem thought for a few moments then said over the com built into the computer trammel on the wall "Doctor how is Harry?" Janeway asked the video screen showing the doctors worried image.

"Mr Kim is stable for the moment but his condition is worsting" the Doctor said from the computer screen.

"How so Doctor?" Tuvok asked.

"Take a look" the Doctor said.

On the screen it showed the young face of Harry Kim and parts of his upper neck and torso gating coved by the same red vane infection that Chakotay and Tuvok had seen on the dead drones on the bio ship.

"What the hell is that doc?" Tom asked looking like he might lose his lunch.

"It seems to be some kind of alien cell mutation of Harry's human cells" the Doctor told them grimy.

"You mean he is going to turn into one of those things?" Tom asked worried for his best friend.

"No…no it seems that this mutation is eating our young friend's from the inside out. This thing has the most complex cellar makeup I have ever seen it's almost has 400 times more density then human cells. I think that's why they Borg haven't been able to assimilated these aliens anything that come into contact with the cells gets destroy it's an amazing immune system this is no doubt that this series 8472 most be the most evolved Species we have every come arouse and from the scans of that bio ship I'll say they and their ships are related somehow" the Doctor said.

"How so doctor?" Tuvok asked.

"Well the only way I can disciple it is like a symbiotic relationships they seem to be made up of the same bio material" the Doctor said.

"Is Harry going to make it?" Chakotay asked concurred ageing his face.

"I'm not shore at the moment he is very weak but he is fighting and I may have a way to help save him but you not going to like it" the Doctor told them.

"What is it Doctor?" Janeway asked her curiosity pecked.

"Upon there exaptation of the cells I found one weakness the cells will not attack each other" the Doctor said

"So how does that help harry?" B'Elanna asked

"I believe the Borg might have the answer to that I have been experimenting with some of the nono-props and I believe that we may be able to reprogramed them to mimic the cells makeup and attack the alien cells" the Doctor stated.

"Wouldn't that mean that you would be trading this cell mutation for Borg assimilation?" Chakotay asked.

"No the cell upon assimilation destroys them self's taking the nano-props with them" the Doctor answered.

"Doctor if this is true then why the Borg has failed to destroy these series 8472 yet?" Tuvok asked his eye brow razing.

"Because the Borg would never consider attacking the cells on an Individual level just in mass it's how their assimilation technology it would never have occurred to them. I have started reprogramed some prototypes to create the same chemicals signature ass the alien cells but it will take several hours to create a viable treatment" the Doctor answered.

"And dose Harry have several hours?" B'Elanna asked.

"I don't know Lieutenant" the Doctor said trailing of.

"Thank you Doctor you have given us a lot to think about do whatever it takes to save harry but could you do one thing for me?" Janeway said.

"Yes Captain?" the Doctor asked.

"Keep the entire information you have gathered loaded into your pregame for the moment" Janeway order suddenly the senior staff looking at her puzzled. Her eyes were alight thought and purpose as the gears and wells of her mind started planning her next move.

"Of Couse" said the Doctor clear puzzled by the Captain's odd request.

"If there is nothing else" Janeway asked "I think is best that we lay low for a while and think about our next move!" Janeway said whit a look on her face which meant she was planning something big and every one expects Chakotay left the briefing room. After a long prose which neater of them speck Chakotay shield and cleared his fought.

"So what are you planning Kathryn?" Chakotay asked gently.

"Who said I was planning anything Chakotay!" Janeway answer hotly.

"You have that look on your face" Chakotay stated plainly.

"You know me to well some times Chakotay!" She stated "What are we going to do?" Janeway asked not really exacting an answer.

"I suppose we can try and leave Borg space this isn't our war" Chakotay forwarded.

"What if it is? What if these Species 8472 are just as bad as the Borg or worse they clearly do not decimate between us and them" Janeway stated hotly as her mind started envisioning worlds been burnt in the cross fire of this war.

"We don't know that Kathryn we could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time." Chakotay told her trying to be reasonable.

"Maybe…..maybe not I need time to think Chakotay, time to make a pain I'm going to the holodeck if you need me" Janeway said as she left for the holodeck.

"Right" he said before taking charge of the bridge more than a little pissed that Kathryn was keeping him out again it made him very anger indeed that he was not on page as Kathryn. He just consoled himself again that they were just to very defeat people perhaps to defect.

**Voyager holodeck 2**

Kathryn Janeway walked into her Leonard de Vinci program and found it a lot defect then how she had left it more the 3 weeks ago when this whole mess whit the Borg had stared it was night know and instead of sun light filling the workshop it was lit but the fickler of candles making the shadows dance in the half light. For a moment or two she thought that Leonard wasn't hear and the holodeck may have been damaged in some way. It was working fine she just had not seen him sitting there looking at the shadows dancing on the walls.

"Leonard? What are you doing?" Janeway asked

"Are my dear Catarina I'm sorry I was lost in thought" Leonard said somewhat dreamily then went back to look at the wall as if it could tell him the meaning of life.

"What are you doing?" Janeway asked again approving the holo graphic man who was sitting in a well-worn arm chair near to the far wall.

"Catarina what do you see when look upon this wall?" Leonard asked patiently taking his eyes of the shadows for the first time to look at her his eye hull of wounder and awe before turn his gaze back to the shadows.

"Just shadows have been cast by the lights." She stated plainly "Why what do you see?" Janeway asked Cleary interested.

"A flock of sparrow's flying thou an open field"…. "People in the market place"….. "A hanged man been punished for is crims…..and yes shadows have been cast by the lights" Leonard said with a bored smile "What has brought you hear so late at night my dear?" Leonard said

"I'm sorry to disturbed you Leonard but I find myself at a cross roads on each side of the road mortal enemy's battle and thou them the only way home" Janeway said her desperation and dementing showing them self's a cross her hard face as if she herself was a battle field for her conflicting emotions.

"Are you shore it is the only way my dear Catarina?" Leonard asked.

"Yes turning back is not an option" Janeway said more to herself than Leonard.

"I see" he said then looked back to her then the wall thoughtful for a moment "there are times when in my imagination I find I can create hole new worlds fielded with wounder beam created and destroyed by the same imagination that created them but there are times when my imagination is not enough and even I find myself kneeing in pray to god to perhaps seek a greater imagination then my own. He said wistful then he got from the chair and took her hands "Come we will wake the Albeit and pray to the greatest imagination of all" Leonard told her making to move thought his missy workshop.

"I don't think praying will help me this time" Janeway said smiling kindly at him then she looked at the wall and idea hit her then like a buckshot. This same idea had come to her early during her argument with Chakotay. It was crazy, mad, insane and impossible but there it was in the shadows on the wall like Leonard said seeking a greater imagination. "But perhaps an appeal to the _devil_" she said "Computer end programme." Janeway commanded.

"Programme terminated" the computer droned.

**The sickbay**

Janeway left the holodeck then walk quickly as pains began forming in her mind. Her first stop was the sickbay to check up on Harry Kim who was still in sickbay been treated by the Doctor and Kes. She walked in to sickbay to see Harry lying down on a bio bed whit a nerves Kes looking down at I'm trying to reassure him that the doctor's nono-probe treatments will save his life.

"Doctor a moment of your time please" Janeway asked.

"Yes Captain you need something? I was just about to start treating Mr Kim infection" the Doctor stated walking over to where the Captain stood.

"Good" Janeway said then looking to Kes after the young woman said something confecting to Harry whichever he couldn't respond. "Doctor is you shore it a wise idea have Kes work whit you on this we know that she has been getting visions from these Species 8472 they could be getting information on us as we speck" Janeway said quietly so Kes's keen hearing wouldn't pick up on their conversation.

"I would never betray Voyager you know that!" Kes said shocked over hearing them talk even while on the other side of sickbay.

"I do Kes but these aliens are unlike anything we have ever seen before for all any of us know they could be having you spy on us whit out you every knowing it" Janeway told her see shock and perhaps disappointment cross Kes's face "You said yourself that you have been feeling defeat for the last few days and I'm afraid that intel we understand more about this Species 8472 I can't have you working in sickbay" Janeway told her kindly.

"I know I have been acting strange the last couple of weeks but I don't think there watching us all the time or using me as a spy….look at me captain I'm the same Kes you have always know I'm not been controlled" Kes said trying to puff herself up.

"I'm sorry Kes I wish I could believe that I truly do but we can't have ourselves to be compromised. So until further notice need to be on the bridge" Janeway ordered.

"Captain I must protest we have no idea what effects these commutations are having on Kes. She should stay here were I can monitor her" the Doctor exclaimed hotly.

"_Doctor_ I'm going say this once and once only." Janeway snapped "Kes you are going to the bridge until we can find a way to stop Species 8472 from popping into your head whenever they fell like it and that an order" Janeway said hotly her temper getting the better of her.

"Yes Captain" Kes said. Then Kes walk past Janeway whit a hurt look on her face and made her way to the bridge.

"Now Doctor you were saying about treating Harry?" Janeway asked a few minutes later.

"Yes _Captain_ I'm going to start with small doses first so I can create the effect dosage for latter treatments of modified nono-probes to give Harry the best chance" the Doctor said putting the argument he and the Captain had behind him.

Kathryn and the Doctor moved to the side of Harry bio-bed and to her horror the red vanes that she had seen before had grown to cover most of Harry face and chest and he was still very much awake she knew this because he was crying. "Doctor! Why have you sedated Him yet?" Janeway asked in shock.

"I have try every sedative we have but nothing works it seems that Species 8472 cells seem to inhibit all the medications we can create." The Doctor said solemnly.

"O my god Harry I'm _so sorry_" Janeway said trying not the shed tears for the sick wounded man.

"_Itssss allll right Captain I'm shore that the doc can fix me uppp_" Harry said slowly obviously in a great deal of pain.

"This may sting a bit harry" the doc said pushing the hypo-spay into harry neck and at first nothing happen but then some of the red veins growths greyed and melted way.

"Amassing Doctor it works" said Janeway impressed.

"Hum mm yes it seems it doses according to the scans we have a 20% loss of infection 5 more treatment like that and we should have our Ensign back. I have to admit I do very good work" the Doctor said inflating his own ego.

"Very good work Doctor and Ensign you stick in there and fight this that an order" Janeway said kindly.

"_Yes's Captain_" Harry rasped.

"Now Doctor a word" Janeway said quietly touching his should and the both moved away from their sickly friend.

"Of course Captain it will take an hour for the next beach of nono-probes to be grown and reprogrammed" the Doctor said as he and the Captain walked over to his office.

"Doctor have you been keeping all this data in you program like I asked?" Janeway asked pointedly.

"Yes Captain all thou I don't know why" the Doctor said clearly puzzled.

"We will get to that later." She stated "first do you think we could weaponries these reprogrammed nono-probes?" Janeway asked.

The doctor look shocked and appalled for a moment but she just gave him a stern look. "In theory yes Captain I'm assuming you won't some short of defence if we get attacked buy Species 8472 again" the Doctor stated.

"Something like that. So do you think it can be done?" Janeway asked trying to get to the point with showing her hand.

"Like I said Captain in theory yes although creating a medic treatment and a weapon is two defeat things and there are my ethically subroutines would prevent me from building such a weapon" the Doctor stated

Janeway shied "that's what was afraid of!" She said disappointed "Thank you Doctor informs me when Ensign Kim has recovered" Janeway told him.

"Of course Captain" the Doctor said watching her levee and saying to Harry as he scanned some more "now what would you prefer Mr Kim Beethoven or Mozart?" the Doctor asked.

"_Doc please I'm dying already do you have to sing_?" Harry said dredging hearing more of the Doctors singing. He was in enough pain as it was.

"Come now Mr Kim you should know that many studies of show that Lessing classical music while being inflicted by an illness have shown a 30% higher rate of recovery" the Doctor told him.

"_Doc please_" harry said to weakly to be herd.

"Hum nothing to say o well Mozart it is then" the Doctor said and start singing as he made more nono- probes and treated Harry Kim.

**Voyager **

As Captain Kathryn Janeway walk from sickbay hearing one of Mozart's opera's been played to Harry buy the Doctor. She started to consider what lines she had crossed in her life? Starfleet Regis, Moral lines, time lines. She walked up to the turbo lift she thought about the line she was considering crossing it was going to be without a doubt a greatest line she had very crossed even more so that getting involved with Caretaker and the Ocampan and the Kazon. Hear she was again making the hard choses and crossing lines like stranding this crew in this god forsaken quadrant, when she brought Chakotay and his Maquis crew and incorporated them into her Starfleet crew, when she had directly or indirectly interfered with the time line no less than three times. She shied at the memories of her triumphs and her failings. She remembered her conversation with Chakotay before and how he had tried to re-shore her by saying there was no same impersonating the greats but all she could do was asked herself what they would do in her steed or what at vice they might give her. This only made her fell the loneliness of her surrounding even more but should used that feeling of isolation to steel herself for what she had to do. Like the outer hard chooses she had made she had few chose's in her decision's it was her adjust the quadrant and she was determined to win.

"Captain Janeway to Commander Chakotay, Lieutenant's Tuvok, B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris and Mr Neelix join me at the Briefing room. I come to a decision on our next course of action" Janeway ordered.

A course of "Yes Captain's" came from each of her senior staff. Moments later her crew met her in the briefing room and stood waiting for whatever decision she had made. None of them could have possible gassed what she was going to say as she turned to face them all looking each in the eye.

"Thank you all for coming." Janeway greeted "I know the last few weeks have been hard for every one and those times are likely going to get harder still." Janeway said prosing for breath "Frist I like to say how proud I am of each and every one of you have all proving your self's above and behold the call of duty. I know I have asked all of you to do a lot for this crew over the last 3 years and I like to think we are a family and you have all proven your self-time and again and I'm asking you all to prove yourself one more time" Janeway told them all.

"What is this all about Captain?" B'Elanna asked blank of her usually fiery expressions.

"What I'm about to suggest is going to sound" Janeway pursed "a little crazy but hear me out" for their part her senior crew just looking at each outer and at her then she said the words she thought she would never say "we are going to give the Borg the means to fight Species 8472" Janeway finished sho could see the shock rip across the faces of her signor staff.

"Captain that is insane" B'Elanna said forgetting herself for a few moments "I'm sorry I did mean to say it like that but the BORG Captain we can't give the Borg a weapon" B'Elanna sated.

"Alliance whit the Borg Captain they will just assimilate us!" Tom said shocked.

"Not an alliance so much but an ex-change they get what they won't and we get what we won't" Janeway told them.

"Captain I must question your logic in seeking out the Borg we have nothing they could desirer that could make them compliant with any requests we could make our assimilation would be a shored" Tuvok stated.

"Not so Tuvok we have one thing they need more than anything else" Janeway told them. The crew just looked at her as if she had grown 3 heads.

"And what might that be Captain" Chakotay asked both shocked and deeply warred that Kathryn may have final lost it.

"The Doctor has found a way to attack Species 8472 cells when finding a treatment for Harry condition" she answer then move over to the console to show them the data the doctor had shown her earlier of the nano-probe attacking the cells and killing them. "The Doctor believes that this could be harassed into making a weapon to fight Species 8472" Janeway said.

"Captain even if we can make a weapon out of these modified nano-probes then we don't need the Borg we can just keep going thought Borg space" Chakotay stated "and use this weapon on any series 8472 that we might come across" he added

"Maybe but how far could we get! We saw hundreds of bio-ships coming from that tear in space and _god only know_ how many other tears there might have out there and there is still the Borg if we get ambushed whit the Doctor and this nano-probe treatment then we lost our edge. No we go to the Borg give them the weapon and in exchange they lets us get though their space unharmed. The safety of 1 ship is a small price to pay for a weapon fight Species 8472" Janeway stated hotly.

"It too risky Kathryn….We can't trust the Borg" Chakotay stated coolly hold her.

"I'm not saying we try and change the nature of the beast but the Borg is no defeat from us in one way. They won't to survive. For the what maybe the first time in their history there losing and that makes them vulnerability we can hold them over a barrel in till we get what we need, we won't give them a god dammed thing until we are out of there space and their protection." Janeway stated hotly.

"Captain there are still other options we could leave Borg space and try and find another way home this isn't our"…. Chakotay said

"Our fight" Kathryn interrupted Chakotay "maybe it is how long do you really think it will take Species 8472 finish with the Borg? What if they don't stop with them? You saw what they're capable of and if they pose a threat to the Borg how long do you think it'll take them to start attracting the rest of the delta quadrant? From what Kes has said the view us all as too weak to be allowed to live. No we have to act know before we lose our chance" Janeway said with passion.

"The Captain makes a valid point Commander it is clear that the Borg lack of knowledge on Species 8472 may give us the advance we need" Tuvok said and Chakotay just looked at the Tuvok as if the Vulcan had also lost his mind then looked at his friends and couldn't believe any of them was conceding this madness. A long silence dissented on in the briefing room for long moments no one spoke.

"I don't know about this Captain but if we go thought with this alliance how are we going to stop the Borg from just taking the information they need from us?" Neelix asked breaking the silence standstill.

"I have had the Doctor store all the information in his program. We can use him as leverage if don't agree we can threaten to delete the Doctor with all the information and they will lose any advantage we could give them and even if they assimilate us they gain nothing and we will make shore the Borg know that" Janeway stated looking to her crew to try and see some support for this plan but there was very little even Tuvok looked on the fence.

"All right we have a lot of work to do" she said with a shy "Tom I won't you to set a course for the nearness Borg ships" Janeway ordered.

"Yes mama" Tom said quietly

"B'Elanna I won't you on the on Operations Intel we get Harry Back" Janeway ordered.

"I think you're crazy Captain but I go were ever you go" B'Elanna said reluctant looking between Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay.

"Neelix I'm going to need you to keep up moral I know this isn't going to go over well for some of the Crew" Janeway said this and looked to Chakotay doubt ridden face.

"You can count on me Captain" Neelix said pleasantly.

"The next few days are going to be the hardest the crew have ever faced and I know we can face it together" Janeway said but the words sounded hollow. Everyone expect for Kathryn and Chakotay left the briefing room and Chakotay gave her a hard look the same he had when they first met as foes over 3 years ago.

"Don't look at me like that Chakotay this is our only option" Janeway stated hotly.

"Is it or is it just the closest one to hand Captain you haven't even consider any other options. We shouldn't get involved hear" Chakotay said his anger starting to bubble over.

"We can't just give up Chakotay" Janeway replied.

"I NEVER SAID WE SOULD GIVE UP" Chakotay yelled hotly before regain his senses "but we don't have all the facts we don't know anything about Species 8472 they may got do us all a favour and exterminate the Borg and leave the rest of the galaxy alone" Chakotay said.

"What if you wrong and they don't stop with the Borg this could be our one chance…" she said back before been interrupted buy Chakotay again

"To do what exactly Captain?" Chakotay asked getting truly angry "Help the Borg to assimilate another Species and add to the Borg's power all for our own benefit!" told her.

"Who's to say that this quadrant owes us _one_!" She yelled back "How many good people have we lost since the Caretaker ripped away from the alpha quadrant they _don't we disserve a chance to get out of here in one piece_?" Janeway asked but as soon as she said it Kathryn regretted saying it as Chakotay looked at her with a mix of horror and revulsion.

"And who the hell are you to decide that Captain Kathryn Janeway I was connected to former drone's remember!" he said his word full of venom and rage. Then taking calming breath before continuing "You have known clue what is like to have outer people control your mind and see outer people memorise" he said final gating a control of his anger because he know that getting anger would not help is case.

"Chakotay I didn't mean to say it like that." Janeway said with a deep shine. "I just thought you of all people would understand and be on my side". Janeway said convinced she was making the right call

Chakotay just let out a long heavy shy as he let his rage be cool "We cannot trust the Borg they are the Scorpion that is there nature" Chakotay said simply.

"What do you mean?" Janeway asked puzzled.

"There an outer legend my farther used to tell me." He said "Once a long time ago a Scorpion was walking along the side of a river wounding how he was going to get across but then he came across a fox traveling the same root as he and he asked the fox if he could climb on him cross the river to this the fox said "_No if I did that you will just sting me and I'll drown_" and the Scorpion said "_if I did that we will both drown_". The fox thought long and hard about it and agreed. He leaned down and let the Scorpion climb on his back and entire the river. As the crossed midway the fox felt a pain in his back and he knew he was betrayed by the Scorpion he ask it "_why have you done this know we will both drown_" to this the Scorpion said "_because it my nature_". Chakotay finished telling the story.

"That all very well and good _Commander_ but this isn't a fairy tale. I have made my decision I was just trying to get your support in this but obvious I was wrong" Janeway said coolly.

"Captain I am sorry I will follow your orders but this is asking too much" Chakotay said know we was losing this argument

"And what was all that about always been on my side Commander I expected your support" Janeway restated "but I suppose I really am alone" she said sadly looking at him with regret filling her heart but what was said was said and what hat to be done there was no backing down know.

"In this you are and I truly am sorry but this has got to be the worst idea in the very long line of bad ideas" Chakotay said keeping himself from saying anymore.

"That is enough Commander! I have given you and the crew orders I expect them to be fallowed to the letter" Janeway said disappointed he could not see things her way.

"Yes Captain" Chakotay said his word cold and unforgiving as he walked out the door leveeing her all alone. She just get all the energy left her and she slumped into one of the chairs and put her face in her hands and wised that things could be different but they weren't and likely would never be the same again no matter how this turned out.

**Next Chapter Fox and the Scorpion part 2**

AN: Now I know some of your going to have questions so I'm going to try answering them.

Frist the time stuff 1st let me say even know I'm a fan of star trek I have no clue how their time dating star dates work so if someone can explain it to me that would be good but I'm not focusing on it. And two in the show it was never clear how long there were in Borg space.

2ed many people will think this story is kind of all over the place. But that not true I won't to make the characters fell more real other than their stock self's we get in the show so if you don't like it to bad so sad. Remember people the characters have been though a lot and know what to go into Borg space its pity much the heart of darkness. You can't expect people to be happy go lucky with it like they are on the show and I hope I showed that with Neelix, Chakotay and especially Sam Wildman remember she lost her daughter in the show in the episode dead lock if I'm not mistaken she got '_her'_ back but she still lost one that I know that is something you never get over fully but it is never brought up in the show they just forget about it.

3. I won't this chapter to be dark especial the Borg bits that's why I have the dead kid in the champers and wounded drone and I did that because I wonted both you guys and Chakotay to see to full horror of the Borg and this in my mind and this flick one of the resins he stays away from Seven in the first 2 years of her stay on Voyager but those of you hoping for romance then look elsewhere like I said for chapter 1 I'm manly going by show cannon ok I'm going to change it up a little but no kissing our outer stuff like that but there will be hints and friend ships so keep your boxes on.

5. Some of you reading may notice I didn't really service Kes very well I have only one thing to say. I don't care Kes has never been one of my favorite characters and never will be and this story is going to focus from now on more on Seven, Chakotay and Janeway by the by this is not a Janeway, Chakotay pairing so if you like that stuff look elsewhere.

6 as for the quotes I have dissuaded that's going to be my trademark so deal with it as for the rest of the story I have 8 chapters planed in total and so no one is confused hear is the list as it stands now

Chapter 1 Beginnings

Chapter 2 Fox and the Scorpion part one

Chapter 3 Fox and the Scorpion part two

Chapter 4 the biter gift

Chapter 5 Honor and duty

Chapter 6 Enemy's

Chapter 7 on raven wings

Chapter 8 no progress is without cost

Ok that it I hope you enjoy. Please review. Request story's (no twilight in less you like gore) and ask questions knowing is growing. Yours Alaster Boneman


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